Germany: Retail Funds Post Strongest Start to a Year on Record
- ETFs top sales rankings
- Money market funds attract inflows, property funds see outflows
- AuM increase by nearly a quarter over three years
Asset managers recorded net inflows of EUR 40.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026. Retail funds led inflows, attracting EUR 33.6 billion – the strongest start to a year on record. The previous high stood at EUR 33.3 billion in the opening quarter of 2000. Open-ended Spezialfonds registered net new inflows of EUR 10.1 billion, while closed-ended funds saw inflows of EUR 0.6 billion. By contrast, investors withdrew a net EUR 4.2 billion from mandates.
ETFs led the sales rankings among retail funds, attracting EUR 22.3 billion between early January and the end of March 2026, compared with EUR 16.7 billion in the same period last year. By asset class, equity funds ranked first, with net inflows of EUR 19.4 billion, including EUR 18.7 billion into equity ETFs.
Bond funds recorded EUR 7.7 billion in inflows, of which EUR 3.2 billion went into bond ETFs. Money market funds attracted EUR 5.1 billion in new capital.
Property funds, by contrast, recorded net outflows of EUR 1.8 billion, following withdrawals of EUR 2.0 billion and EUR 2.1 billion in the two preceding quarters. Investors who purchased their units in property funds after 21 July 2013 are required to observe a twelve-month notice period prior to redemption.
Asset managers oversee a total of EUR 4,855 billion on behalf of investors in Germany. Assets under management have increased by 24 percent over the past three years, up from EUR 3,922 billion at the end of March 2023. A substantial share – EUR 2,287 billion – is attributable to the purely institutional business conducted via open-ended Spezialfonds. Pension schemes (EUR 811 billion) and insurance companies (EUR 535 billion) represent the two largest investor groups in this segment.
Retail funds account for EUR 1,841 billion of assets under management. Equity funds represent EUR 928 billion, including EUR 412 billion in equity ETFs. Balanced funds follow with EUR 380 billion, while bond funds account for EUR 301 billion. Net assets in property funds total EUR 110 billion. Closed-ended funds are reported to have assets of EUR 66 billion. In addition, fund companies manage EUR 661 billion in mandates.