Foreign investments boosted Finnish fund assets in the first half of the year
Marketing of investment funds abroad and cross-border fund mergers increase foreign investors’ holdings in Finnish funds. Foreign holdings in Finnish investment funds in the 2010s have remained at around 20%.
New investments in investment funds registered in Finland totalled EUR 5.4 bn in net terms in the first half of 2017. If funds' mutual subscriptions and redemptions are not taken into account, net investments in Finnish funds in the first half of the year were the largest seen in the 2010s.
The level of investments is mostly accounted for by foreign investors, who increased their investments in Finnish funds by EUR 3.2 bn in January-June. Approximately 80% of this amount came from Sweden. Of foreign investor sectors, insurance corporations, non-financial corporations and households increased their investments most.
On the whole, foreign investors held around 21%, i.e. EUR 24.8 bn, of Finnish investment fund assets at the end of June. According to the Bank of Finland’s estimate, 14% of these fund assets had been channelled into Finnish investment outlets. The corresponding figure for Finnish investors was 31%.
Investments in corporate debt instruments increased, US shares were sold
Among the types of funds, bond funds attracted most of the new capital, EUR 2.8 bn, in January-June. As in recent years, these investments were mainly directed at debt instruments issued by non-financial corporations and financial institutions.
Equity funds registered a net inflow of EUR 1.4 bn in new investments. These were mostly channelled into European and Asian stock markets. By contrast, Finnish funds’ repatriations of investments in US shares were EUR 0.6 bn higher than their additional investments in them.
In addition to new investments, valuation changes boosted Finnish investment fund assets by EUR 2.7 bn in the first half of the year. In all, the assets increased by 7.5%, with their value staying at EUR 116 bn at the end of June.
Key statistical data on investment funds registered in Finland, preliminary data
- Breakdown of investment funds’ fund-share liability by sector of holder
- Securities-based assets of investment funds by area
- Securities-based assets of investment funds by instrument, area and sector
For further information, please contact:
Anne Turkkila, tel. +358 9 183 2175, email: anne.turkkila(at)bof.fi
Topias Leino, tel. +358 9 183 2315, email: topias.leino(at)bof.fi
The next investment fund news release will be published at 1 pm on 1 November 2017.