Bonds are back! Funds attract €231.7M

Assets under the management of investment funds commercialised in Portugal rose 4.4% in the first four months of 2023 to €231.7 million.

Spurred by the equities and share markets, investors have shown a greater appetite for national investment funds, with more investors putting money in than withdrawing it. In the period involved (April), the amount of investment was €203.5 million, while the amount taken out of funds was €181.3 million, resulting in a positive balance of €22.3 million.

Since the start of the year, the accumulated balance of subscriptions minus withdrawals was equally positive, totalling €231.7 million according to the monthly balance from the Portuguese Association of Investment, Pension and Property Funds (APFIPP).

Bonds in euros were particularly highlighted, with an annual net balance of €254.3 million. Regarding April alone, the greatest amount of savings invested were in short term Northern European funds which attracted €18.8 million.

All told, between savings netted and the evolution of assets, the amount under management increased slightly (0.5% to €17.9Bn in April on €17.8 million in March. Since the beginning of the year, the amount of assets grew substantially. (+4.4%).

This positive balance is negative, however (-2.8%) in light of the past 12 months. However, losses have fallen since, in Q1 the value of assets under management fell 4.8%.

Whilst pension plans continue to be the most popular assets under management, bonds funds continue to hold significant assets. “Since the beginning of the year, in percentage terms, the Euro Bonds category has grown the most (+18.6%) enjoying the greatest growth in absolute terms with €266.8 million”, according to the bulletin.

In April too, the same category saw the greatest absolute growth with +€26.6 million on March or +1.6%.

“Bonds are back” says asset portfolio managers Erin Browne and Emmanuel S. Sharef of Pimco.