New Funds in Global Markets 2Q/3Q 2018 - Asia, Local Europe, and Cross-Border

A total of 3,279 new funds were launched in Q2 and Q3 of 2018 locally in Asia and Europe as well as in the form of cross-border products. The newly introduced funds gathered a total of US$210 billion in net sales through the end of September 2018.

There were 395 ETFs launched during Q2 and Q3 2018: 305 of which were launched in Asia, 85 of which were cross-border and five of which were European.

New Asian funds have taken the majority of sales in absolute terms over the last three quarters with 58%, 51% and 61% in Q1 2018, Q2 2018 and Q3 2018, respectively.

In the last two quarters, funds in each region have, on average, achieved similar sales volumes. The greater inflows into new funds in Asia are due to the sheer number of funds being launched, compared to the rate of fund launches in the more mature European market.

In Q2 2018, the average newly launched equity fund took in US$38 million, compared to US$65 million for bond funds and US$50 million for mixed asset funds. In Q3 2018, equity funds achieved net sales of US$32 million, on average, whereas mixed asset funds saw net sales of US$96 million and bond funds US$61 million.

There were 1,687 new funds launched in Asia in the Q2/Q3 2018 period which gathered US$81 billion in new investor money. Mixed asset funds attracted the largest absolute inflows at US$32 billion; however, there were more bond fund, at 451, launched in the period, which saw net inflows of US$28 billion.

New fund sales in European and cross-border funds totalled US$56 billion in Q2/Q3 2018. Net flows were more evenly spread across asset classes than during Q1 2018, when mixed asset funds dominated. Bond funds were the most popular choice, with US$16.5 billion invested into new launches, while mixed asset funds took in US$13.9 billion and equity funds saw US$13.2 billion in net flows.