In the EU, private and institutional investors hold investment funds worth EUR 12.5 trillion (according to the ECB). Germany is by far the largest market with invested assets of over EUR 3.4 trillion. Over the past five years, the German market grew on average by 7.1 per cent per year. Among the larger markets, only Luxembourg could keep up with this increase (8.2 per cent). Growth in Italy (3.4 per cent), France (2.4 per cent), and the Netherlands (2.0 per cent) was significantly lower.

In Germany, 50 million private investors in 21 million households invest their money in funds, either directly by acquiring shares in mutual funds for their portfolio or indirectly by paying contributions into life insurance policies or occupational pension schemes. Insurers, pension funds and other pension providers are also professional large-scale investors, who in turn invest a significant portion of the contributions received in funds. The management companies set up these so called Spezialfonds specifically for institutional investors, which also include churches, pension funds and foundations.