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Worldwide Regulated Open-End Fund Assets and Flows
Third Quarter 2018

Washington, DC, December 18, 2018—Worldwide regulated open-end fund assets increased 1.3 percent to $50.09 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2018, excluding funds of funds. Worldwide net cash inflow to all funds was $178 billion in the third quarter, compared with $197 billion of net inflows in the second quarter of 2018.

The Investment Company Institute compiles worldwide open-end fund statistics on behalf of the International Investment Funds Association, the organization of national fund associations. The collection for the third quarter of 2018 contains statistics from 47 jurisdictions.

Worldwide Assets of Regulated Open-End Funds
(Trillions of US dollars, end of quarter)

 

Note: Regulated open-end funds include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and institutional funds.

The growth rate of total regulated open-end fund assets reported in US dollars was reduced by US dollar appreciation over the third quarter of 2018. For example, on a US dollar–denominated basis, fund assets in Europe decreased by 0.6 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 0.2 percent on a euro-denominated basis.

Net Assets of Worldwide Regulated Open-End Funds
Billions of US dollars
  2017 2018
  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
All funds* 42,971 44,979 47,375 49,284 50,001 49,435 50,094
    Long-term 37,815 39,649 41,655 43,385 43,900 43,474 44,115
       Equity 18,766 19,585 20,626 21,826 21,950 22,121 22,731
       Bond 9,313 9,740 10,183 10,370 10,550 10,249 10,253
       Balanced/Mixed 5,656 5,919 6,216 6,398 6,457 6,256 6,261
       Guaranteed 69 71 70 67 65 59 57
       Real Estate 630 671 709 747 787 780 791
       Other 3,381 3,662 3,851 3,978 4,092 4,009 4,022
    Money market 5,156 5,330 5,720 5,900 6,101 5,961 5,979
Memo items included above:
       ETFs 3,751 4,001 4,281 4,642 4,749 4,821 5,091
       Institutional 3,799 4,002 4,238 4,378 4,586 4,371 4,409

*Excludes Funds of Funds where possible

On a US dollar–denominated basis, equity fund assets increased by 2.8 percent to $22.73 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2018. Bond fund assets were essentially unchanged at $10.25 trillion in the third quarter. Balanced/mixed fund assets increased by 0.1 percent to $6.26 trillion in the third quarter, while money market fund assets increased by 0.3 percent globally to $5.98 trillion.

Percentage of Worldwide Regulated Open-End Fund Assets
By type of fund, 2018:Q3 By region, 2018:Q3

At the end of the third quarter of 2018, 45 percent of worldwide regulated open-end fund assets were held in equity funds. The asset share of bond funds was 20 percent and the asset share of balanced/mixed funds was 13 percent. Money market fund assets represented 12 percent of the worldwide total.

By region, 51 percent of worldwide assets were in the Americas in the third quarter of 2018, 35 percent were in Europe, and 14 percent were in Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions.

Net Sales of Worldwide Regulated Open-End Funds
Billions of US dollars
  2017 2018
  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
All funds 617 609 802 687 584 197 178
    Long-term 587 483 492 555 570 161 232
       Equity 174 124 142 283 263 25 91
       Bond 269 219 227 162 147 72 91
       Balanced/Mixed 73 69 61 73 83 19 12
       Guaranteed 2 -1 -3 -3 -2 -2 0
       Real Estate 12 9 11 13 15 17 10
       Other 56 63 54 27 64 30 28
    Money market 30 126 310 132 14 36 -53
Memo Items Included Above:
       ETFs 186 145 125 165 143 53 132
       Institutional 74 46 75 90 117 18 77

Note: Forty-eight jurisdictions reported data from Q1 2017 through Q3 2017; 47 jurisdictions reported data from Q4 2017 through Q3 2018.  Assets of reporting jurisdictions represented 96 percent of assets of all jurisdictions at the end of 2018: Q3. Net sales are new sales plus reinvested dividends less redemptions plus net exchanges. Components may not add to the total because of rounding or unclassified funds.  Funds of funds excluded where possible.

Net sales of regulated open-end funds worldwide were $178 billion in the third quarter of 2018. Flows into equity funds worldwide were $91 billion in the third quarter, after experiencing $25 billion of net inflows in the second quarter of 2018.

Globally, bond funds posted an inflow of $91 billion in the third quarter of 2018, after recording an inflow of $72 billion in the second quarter.

Inflows from balanced/mixed funds worldwide totaled $12 billion in the third quarter of 2018, compared with $19 billion of inflows in the second quarter of 2018.

Worldwide Net Sales of Regulated Open-End Funds by Region
Billions of US dollars
Worldwide Long-Term and Money Market Net Sales
Billions of US dollars

Money market funds worldwide experienced an outflow of $53 billion in the third quarter of 2018 after registering an inflow of $36 billion in the second quarter of 2018.