The net funding of Italian funds is growing, but the incidence of the asset management industry remains low compared to the past. To say it is the Survey on Italian funds and Sicavs published by theMediobanca Research Office, according to which in 2014 net inflows were positive for approximately 33 billion euro. This is the second year in a row that subscriptions have exceeded redemptions, following nine years (2003 to 2012) in which the opposite had occurred.
Compared to 1999, the incidence of managed assets on GDP went from 42% to 12%, in strong contrast with the trend recorded in Europe, where, in the same period, the incidence on GDP increased from 48% to 79%.
In 2014 the funds closed their accounts with a pre-tax profit of 11 billion euros (out of assets to manage which at the beginning of the year amounted to 218 billion). The average net return on equity can be estimated at 4%, which particularly benefited from the recovery of equity funds (6%), balanced funds (5,5%) and bond funds (4,1%), as well as pension funds, both contracted (7,2%) and open (7,5%), while flexible funds stopped at 2,1%. –
Management costs remained unchanged at 1,2% of assets with a peak of 2,7% in the equity sector (almost four times compared to US funds). Portfolio turnover (whose complete turnover occurs every 9 months) was also confirmed to be high, especially when compared with the average of US equity funds (which exceeds two years).
From a long-term perspective, returns are still unsatisfactory. According to the survey by the Mediobanca Research Office, in fact, those who had invested in all Italian open-end mutual funds in the last 31 years would have suffered, compared to an annual investment in 12-month BOTs, a loss slightly less than once the initial capital (increased in the period by only 4,1 times against 5 for BOTs). On the basis of the risk-free rate, the result of open funds highlights a destruction of value equal to around 115 billion euros in the last fifteen years.
According to the official statistics available, in the first three months of 2015 there was a prevalence of subscriptions over redemptions for 10,1 billion euro in funds governed by Italian law. Roundtrip funds (promoted abroad by Italian managers) recorded a net inflow volume of 14,5 billion. The performance of Italians in the period can be estimated at around 4,6%.
Attachments: Italian funds report 2015 – Presentation.pdf
