By Craig Phillips
Stronginflows and solidly performing equity markets have helped increase the size of the retail managed funds market by 4.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2003 and pushing asset value out to $267.3 billion, according to research houseAssirt.
Preliminary findings in itsMarket Share Reportfor the December 2003 quarter indicate the retail managed fund market increased in value by 13.1 per cent from $236.4 billion to $267.3 billion for the year as a whole.
The research house deems the growth was largely fuelled by positive net inflows coupled with better performing domestic and international equity markets, which returned 5.1 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively over the 2003 calendar year.
Despite $8 billion of inflows in 2003, this was more than $3 billion less than 2003 when the industry took $11.1 billion in new monies. Inflows for the December quarter were $2.2 billion — down from $2.8 billion in the September quarter.
Net inflows into equity funds rose marginally over the quarter — rising from $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion, with Australian equity inflows jumping from $491 million to $572 million, and overseas equities boosted from $851 million to $872 million in the December quarter.
Listed property inflows continued to decline with $36 million in net inflows — down from $149 million in the September quarter and down from $428 million a year ago.
Cash funds also exhibited increased outflows ($351 million) for the quarter — an increase on the $126 million of outflows in the September quarter.
Meanwhile, Australian fixed interest recorded significant net inflows over the quarter ($447 million), although this was down on the previous quarter inflows of $576 million.
As for individual managers,UBS Global Asset Management,Platinum Asset ManagementandAXA Asia Pacificretained their respective top three places for the December quarter in terms of inflows.
AMPandPM Capitaljumped from ninth and seventh to fourth and fifth respectively in comparison to inflow levels from the September 2003 quarter.
However, there was little change in terms of those managers holding the lion’s share of industry funds under management, with Commonwealth/Colonial, National/MLCand AMP retaining their positions as the industry’s heavyweights.
