Fixed income portfolios generated net inflows of €8bn (£7bn), compared with a net outflow of €1bn in April.
Greater demand for bond funds coincided with a fall in appetite for equity and balanced strategies. Equity portfolios suffered a fall in net inflows, from €8bn to €1bn, while balanced funds registered net sales of €5bn – half of April’s inflows.
Demand for money market funds rose, to €6bn. Bernard Delbecque, the director of economics and research at Efama, says the shift towards fixed income reflected a growing investor preference for lower-risk assets.
Efama’s Investment Fund Industry Fact Sheet incoporates net sales and assets data from 23 European national associations, which represented more than 97% of total Ucits and non-Ucits assets at the end of May.