At the end of March 2023, the total NAV of all Croatian mutual funds equaled EUR 2.01bn, which would imply a decrease of 3.7% MoM and 15.7% YoY.
HANFA has published the latest monthly report on the changes recorded by the Croatian capital markets, including the data on Croatian mutual funds. According to the report, by the end of March 2023, the NAV of Croatian mutual funds amounted to EUR 2.01bn, representing a decrease of 3.7% MoM, and 15.7% YoY.
In terms of the asset holdings, on the MoM basis, the largest increase was recorded by deposits and cash, which increased by EUR 24.7m, or 8.2%. Following them, we have investment funds, which grew by EUR 14.3m, or 7.5%, and receivables, which increased by EUR 2.6m, or 54.9%. On the other hand, the largest decrease was recorded in bond holdings, which declined by EUR 62.3m, or 5%. Money market as well as the share holdings also recorded a decline, decreasing by EUR 20.6m (or 35%) and EUR 8.3m (or 2.7%), respectively.
Meanwhile, on a yearly basis, the majority of the asset holdings recorded a decrease, with the only increases recorded by investment funds and receivables, which grew by EUR 22.8m (or 12.5%) and EUR 1.3m (or 22.7%), respectively. On the flip side, the largest absolute decline was recorded by deposits and cash holdings, which decreased by EUR 233.9m, or 41.8%, followed by bonds, which declined by EUR 154.8m, or 11.5%, and shares, with a decline of EUR 12m, or 3.8%.
Total assets of Croatian mutual funds (2015 – March 2023, EURm)
Source: HANFA, InterCapital Research
It’s also worth noting the net contributions into these funds because, unlike pension funds which will have a consistent positive cash flow into their system due to the pension system in Croatia, the mutual funds cater to investors which have the option of also redeeming their stakes. This is pretty evident in the March 2023 data, as the overall net contributions were negative at EUR 82.1m, meaning more people redeemed their shares than contributed to the funds. Breaking this down further, the largest absolute decline was recorded by bond funds, where redemptions reduced the overall NAV by EUR 88.5m, while the “other” fund category recorded the largest increase, at EUR 12.7m.
Taking a look at securities and deposits, they amounted to a total of EUR 252.8m in March 2023, representing a decrease of EUR 8.9m (or 3.4%) MoM, and EUR 20.2m (or EUR 7.4%) YoY. Of this, the domestic securities and deposits amounted to EUR 120.6m, or 47.7% of the total, and have recorded the brunt of the decreases. In fact, they declined by EUR 8.5m (or 6.62%) MoM, and EUR 45.5m (or 27.4%) YoY. Foreign securities and deposits, on the other hand, accounted for the remaining 52.30%, or EUR 132.2m, declining by only EUR 309k (or 0.23%) MoM, but recording an increase of EUR 25.3m, or 23.6% YoY.
Lastly, looking at the current asset structure of the mutual funds, bond holdings still have the highest share at 57.6% of all asset holdings, but they have lost 1.6 p.p. on the monthly basis, but have increased by 2.8 p.p. on a YoY basis. The 2nd largest category is deposits and cash, which accounted for 15.7% of the total, increasing by 1.5 p.p. MoM, but decreasing by 7 p.p. YoY. Following them we have shares, which accounted for 14.6% of the total, remaining unchanged MoM, but increasing by 1.8 p.p. YoY, as well as investment funds, which accounted for 9.9% of the total, increasing by 0.9 p.p. MoM, and 2.5 p.p. YoY.
Current AUM of Croatian mutual funds (March 2023, % of the total)
Source: HANFA, InterCapital Research
