Worldwide Regulated Open-End Fund Assets and Flows
Fourth Quarter 2021
Washington, DC; March 22, 2022—Worldwide regulated open-end fund assets increased 3.9 percent to $71.05 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, excluding funds of funds. Worldwide net cash inflow to all funds was $1.1 trillion in the fourth quarter, compared with $794 billion of net inflows in the third quarter of 2021.
The Investment Company Institute compiles worldwide regulated open-end fund statistics on behalf of the International Investment Funds Association (IIFA), the organization of national fund associations. The collection for the fourth quarter of 2021 contains statistics from 46 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 decreased by US dollar appreciation over the fourth quarter of 2021. For example, on a US dollar–denominated basis, fund assets in Europe increased by 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 4.9 percent on a euro-denominated basis.
Net Assets of Worldwide Regulated Open-End Funds
Billions of US dollars
| 2020 | 2021 | ||||||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
| All funds* | 47,928 | 53,861 | 56,906 | 63,035 | 64,610 | 68,576 | 68,362 | 71,053 | |
|
Long-term |
40,236 | 45,704 | 48,841 | 54,719 | 56,138 | 60,012 | 59,840 | 62,220 | |
|
Equity |
19,177 | 22,837 | 24,569 | 28,315 | 29,756 | 32,088 | 31,867 | 33,638 | |
|
Bond |
10,810 | 11,626 | 12,221 | 13,053 | 12,921 | 13,508 | 13,639 | 13,717 | |
|
Balanced/Mixed |
5,854 | 6,489 | 6,991 | 7,800 | 7,945 | 8,542 | 8,496 | 8,780 | |
|
Guaranteed |
42 | 44 | 44 | 46 | 43 | 40 | 36 | 33 | |
|
Real Estate |
1,073 | 1,129 | 1,216 | 1,308 | 1,283 | 1,348 | 1,329 | 1,369 | |
|
Other |
3,281 | 3,579 | 3,800 | 4,197 | 4,189 | 4,485 | 4,474 | 4,682 | |
|
Money market |
7,692 | 8,157 | 8,065 | 8,316 | 8,473 | 8,564 | 8,522 | 8,833 | |
| Memo items included above: | |||||||||
|
ETFs |
5,144 | 6,095 | 6,638 | 7,684 | 8,277 | 9,038 | 9,183 | 9,941 | |
|
Institutional |
4,614 | 4,935 | 5,220 | 5,687 | 5,533 | 5,839 | 5,755 | 5,839 | |
*Excludes Funds of Funds where possible
On a US dollar–denominated basis, equity fund assets increased by 5.6 percent to $33.64 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021. Bond fund assets increased by 0.6 percent to $13.72 trillion in the fourth quarter. Balanced/mixed fund assets increased by 3.3 percent to $8.78 trillion in the fourth quarter, while money market fund assets increased by 3.7 percent globally to $8.83 trillion.
Percentage of Worldwide Regulated Open-End Fund Assets
| By type of fund, 2021:Q4 | By region, 2021:Q4 |
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 47 percent of worldwide regulated open-end fund assets were held in equity funds. The asset share of bond funds was 19 percent and the asset share of balanced/mixed funds was 12 percent. Money market fund assets represented 12 percent of the worldwide total.
By region, 53 percent of worldwide assets were in the Americas in the fourth quarter of 2021, 33 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
| 2020 | 2021 | ||||||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
| All funds | 692 | 911 | 292 | 744 | 1,187 | 855 | 794 | 1,109 | |
|
Long-term |
-223 | 425 | 487 | 654 | 924 | 776 | 772 | 800 | |
|
Equity |
-18 | -2 | -31 | 192 | 347 | 257 | 223 | 297 | |
|
Bond |
-229 | 307 | 325 | 326 | 318 | 304 | 337 | 235 | |
|
Balanced/Mixed |
-26 | 52 | 129 | 115 | 186 | 120 | 178 | 146 | |
|
Guaranteed |
-2 | 0 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -2 | -2 | -2 | |
|
Real Estate |
15 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 3 | |
|
Other |
38 | 56 | 54 | 8 | 64 | 85 | 29 | 120 | |
|
Money market |
914 | 486 | -196 | 90 | 263 | 79 | 22 | 308 | |
| Memo Items Included Above: | |||||||||
|
ETFs |
124 | 170 | 183 | 256 | 358 | 327 | 260 | 337 | |
|
Institutional |
53 | 22 | 55 | 75 | 108 | 83 | 122 | 116 | |
46 jurisdictions reported data in Q1 2020 through Q4 2021. Assets of reporting jurisdictions represented 96 percent of assets of all jurisdictions at the end of 2021: Q4. 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 are excluded where possible.
Net sales of regulated open-end funds worldwide were $1.1 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2021. Flows into equity funds worldwide were $297 billion in the fourth quarter, after experiencing $223 billion of net inflows in the third quarter of 2021.
Globally, bond funds posted an inflow of $235 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, after recording an inflow of $337 billion in the third quarter.
Inflows from balanced/mixed funds worldwide totaled $146 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with $178 billion of inflows in the third quarter of 2021.
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 inflow of $308 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021 after registering an inflow of $22 billion in the third quarter of 2021.