31/01/2013
Collective management in France: Better, but not perfect
First impressions can be deceptive. Due to positive market effects, 2012 appears to have been a far more favourable year for asset management in France than the year before. According to a study by EuroPerformance – a SIX Company, overall assets of EUR763bn as of the end of December mean growth of EUR33bn in assets under management by French-registered funds. This is an increase of 4.5% in twelve months. However, for the third consecutive year, the market shows net outflows. These outflows may total only EUR13.3bn, far from the level of net inflows of EUR83bn recorded one year earlier, but overall assets remain 13% lower than they were three years ago, and 27% lower than they were in 2007.In its analysis, Europerformance attributes this loss of momentum for management in France to several factors. Difficulty in capturing the savings of households rendered cautious by the volatility of markets, competition from bank savings accounts and real estate investments, high taxes and the fact that short-term assets are trapped by investment flows, even in long-term savings products such as employee savings plans, are some of these factors. Additionally, an offensive by foreign investment firms appears to be becoming more marked. The survey finds that the number of foreign funds authorised for sale in France rose 15% in 2012, and assets totalled roughly EUR205bn, according to estimates by AFG.The full study is available at www.europerformance.fr The following URL leads to its most recent address at that site: http://www.europerformance.fr/publications/bilan-annuel/16.html
