Passively managed inflows have masked the extent of damage to the industry as a whole

Active fund strategies bear brunt of outflows in Europe

Active asset managers are bearing the brunt of negative sentiment with outflows from open-ended funds surpassing €150bn in the year to the end of August, while passively managed inflows have helped mask the extent of the damage.

Markets have undergone a wide sell-off since the start of the year as the Ukraine war, rising interest rates, inflation and a looming recession spooked investors.

Amin Rajan, chief executive of Create-Research, said active funds “should be doing relatively better than passives” at times like this but investors have been nervous.

“Investors are amassing dry powder and waiting to deploy it during big market ructions that create good buying opportunities,” he said. “There is a lot of wait-and-see currently.”

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Anna Devine