Assets under management (AuM) in the European fund management industry continued to rise in 2021 and reached an estimated €31.3 trillion at the end of September, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA).

The association’s latest Asset Management in Europe report shows fund assets in Europe rose 5.2% to €28.4 trillion at the end of 2020 and then rose to €31.3 trillion over the next nine months.

At the end of 2020, retail investors formed the largest category of clients of the industry, with a market share of 28%, ahead of pension funds on 26%, insurance companies on 23% and other institutional clients on 21%.

Investment fund assets represented €15.37 trillion or 54% of total AuM at the end of 2020.

The share of discretionary mandate assets in total AuM stood at 46% and amounted to just over €13 trillion.

The report shows that asset management in Europe is concentrated in six countries, where almost 85% of the asset management activity takes place.

The United Kingdom is the largest European asset management market, followed by France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Italy.

At the end of 2020, bond assets accounted for 40% of investment portfolios managed by asset managers in Europe, compared to 31% for equity assets and 7% for money market and cash equivalents.

The remainder of the portfolio was made up of other assets including infrastructure, hedge funds, structured products and private equity.  

The reports shows that by the end of Q1 2021, asset managers in Europe applied an ESG investment approach (Environmental, Social and Governance) to €11 trillion of assets.

There are more than 4,500 asset management companies operating in Europe, with around 115,000 employed directly in the industry.