WORLDWIDE MUTUAL FUND ASSETS AND FLOWS

Fourth Quarter 2012

Washington, DC, April 5, 2013 — Mutual fund assets worldwide increased 3.0 percent to $26.84

trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, an all-time high. Worldwide net cash flow to all funds was $421 billion in the fourth quarter, compared to $181 billion of net inflows in the third quarter of 2012. Flows into long-term funds increased to $284 billion in the fourth quarter from an inflow of $195 billion in the previous quarter. Equity funds worldwide had net inflows of $18 billion in the fourth quarter compared to $57 billion of net outflows in the third quarter. Flows into bond funds totaled $211 billion in the fourth quarter, up from net inflows of $194 billion in the previous quarter. Inflows to money market funds were $137 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, reversing the net outflows registered in the first three quarters of 2012.

The Investment Company Institute compiles worldwide statistics on behalf of the International Investment Funds Association, an organization of national mutual fund associations. The collection for the third quarter of 2012 contains statistics from 45 countries.

The growth rate of total mutual fund assets reported in U.S. dollars was made larger by U.S. dollar depreciation. For example, on a U.S. dollar–denominated basis, mutual fund assets in Europe increased by 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 2.1 percent on a Euro-denominated basis.

On a U.S. dollar–denominated basis, equity fund assets increased 2.1 percent to $10.7 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, and accounted for 28 percent of the $792 billion quarterly increase in global mutual fund assets. Bond fund assets increased 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter to $7.0 trillion, accounting for 35 percent of the quarterly increase in global mutual fund assets. Balanced/mixed fund assets rose 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter, and money market fund assets rose 3.3 percent.

Net cash flows into mutual funds worldwide were $421 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012. Flows into equity funds worldwide were $18 billion in the fourth quarter, after experiencing $57 billion of net outflows in the third quarter of 2012. In the Americas, outflows from equity funds decreased to $20 billion in the fourth quarter versus net outflows of $44 billion in the third quarter. European equity funds posted an inflow of $39 billion in the fourth quarter compared to a $12 billion net outflow in the previous quarter.

Flows into bond funds worldwide strengthened to $211 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012 after registering net inflows of $194 billion in the third quarter. Bond funds reported $102 billion of net inflows in the Americas and $79 billion in Europe during the fourth quarter. In the Asia and Pacific region, bond funds recorded net inflows of $31 billion in the fourth quarter compared with net inflows of $17 billion in the third quarter.

Inflows from balanced/mixed funds worldwide totaled $43 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with $49 billion of net inflows in the third quarter of 2012. Inflows were recorded into balanced/mixed funds of $25 billion in the Americas and $17 billion in Europe during the fourth quarter.

Money market funds worldwide experienced a net inflow of $137 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012 after recording a net outflow of $14 billion in the third quarter of 2012. The global inflow to money market funds in the fourth quarter was driven predominately by inflows of $144 billion in the Americas, while Europe registered outflows of $36 billion in the fourth quarter.

NET SALES OF MUTUAL FUNDS WORLDWIDE
(billions of U.S. dollars)
2011 / 2012
Q1 / Q2 / Q3 / Q4 / Q1 / Q2 / Q3 / Q4
All Funds / 80 / 109 / -170 / 84 / 193 / 111 / 181 / 421
Long Term / 181 / 194 / -107 / -13 / 274 / 150 / 195 / 284
Equity / 58 / 24 / -108 / -71 / -9 / -18 / -57 / 18
Bond / 61 / 100 / 10 / 67 / 215 / 163 / 194 / 211
Balanced/Mixed / 48 / 60 / -20 / -2 / 57 / 2 / 49 / 43
Other / 13 / 10 / 10 / -7 / 10 / 3 / 8 / 12
Money Market / -101 / -85 / -63 / 97 / -81 / -39 / -14 / 137
Note: Thirty-nine countries reported 2011:Q1; 40 countries reported in 2012:Q1; 41 countries reported in 2011:Q1, 2011:Q2, 2011:Q4, 2012:Q3 and 2012:Q4; 42 countries reported in 2012:Q2. Assets of reporting countries represented 93 percent of assets of all countries at the end of 2012:Q4. Net sales are new sales plus reinvested dividends less redemptions plus net exchanges. Components may not sum to total because of rounding or unclassified funds.

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, 40 percent of worldwide mutual fund assets were held in equity funds. The asset share of bond funds was 26 percent and the asset share of balanced/mixed funds was 12 percent. Money market fund assets represented 18 percent of the worldwide total.

By region, 56 percent of worldwide assets were in the Americas in the fourth quarter of 2012, 31 percent were in Europe, and 13 percent were in Africa and the Asia and Pacific region.

The number of mutual funds worldwide stood at 73,243 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. By type of fund, 38 percent were equity funds, 23 percent were balanced/mixed funds, 18 percent were bond funds, and 4 percent were money market funds.

Note: Other/unclassified includes total funds in Ireland.

– ICI –

ICI-13-46