Active equity fund flows spike in 2017 after negative 2016

European active equity funds saw a turnaround in net flows during 2017, enjoying a rise of €135.8bn in net new money to €62.7bn, after suffering an outflow of €73.1bn in 2016, according to Morningstar data.

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Jassmyn Goh

The latest Morningstar figures also show that active equity funds posted a 14% increase in net assets under management (AUM) to €2.7trn last year.

The data revealed the five active European equity funds with the largest net inflows during the year were:

  • Sweden’s default pension fund AP7 Aktiefond at €2.53bn
  • Baillie Gifford’s Long Term Global Growth Investment Fund at €2.52bn
  • Goldman Sachs’ Global CORE Equity Portfolio at €2.5bn
  • the Pictet-Robotics fund at €2.47bn
  • Terry Smith’s Fundsmith Equity fund at €2.46bn

The AP7 Aktiefond also topped the charts with the largest AUM at €40.3bn. It was followed by Deutsche Asset Management’s DWS Top Dividende fund at €19.2bn, Fundsmith Equity at €15.1bn, Invesco Perpetual High Income Fund at €11.6bn, and Findlay Park American Fund at €10.7bn.

On the European passive equity fund side, the sector saw net inflows of €74.9bn during 2017 which drove up AUM by 23% to €958.3bn.

The Morningstar data found that Blackrock dominated this sector in terms of flows for the year.

The top five passive equity funds in terms of net inflows were:

  • Blackrock ACS 50:50 Global Equity Tracker Fund at €9.5bn
  • Blackrock ACS UK Equity Tracker Fund at €6bn
  • Blackrock ACS World ex UK Equity Tracker Fund at €5.8bn
  • Blackrock ACS 30:70 Global Equity Tracker Fund at €3.6bn
  • Blackrock ACS 60:40 Global Equity Tracker Fund at €3.2bn

In terms of the largest AUM, Blackrock’s iShares made up four of the top five with their iShares Core S&P 500 ETF at €21.5bn leading the charts. This was followed by Vanguard S&P 500 ETF at €18bn, iShares UK Equity Index Fund (UK) at €12.3bn, iShares Core MSCI World ETF at €11.5bn, and iShares Developed World Index Fund (IE) at €10.7bn.