At the end of March 2023, the total AUM of Slovenian mutual funds amounted to EUR 4.21bn, representing an increase of 0.6% YoY, and 1.9% MoM.
Recently, the Slovenian Securities Market Agency published its latest monthly report on the developments recorded by the Slovenian mutual funds, for March 2023. According to the report, the total assets under management (AUM) amounted to EUR 4.21bn, representing an increase of 1.9% MoM, and 0.6% YoY.
Looking at the AUM by asset types, and starting with the monthly changes, the largest absolute increase was recorded by share holdings, which increased by EUR 49.2m, or 1.7%. Following them, we have bonds, which increased by EUR 38.2m, or 5.9%. Investment funds also recorded a slight increase, of EUR 5.5m, or 2% MoM, while on the other hand, cash holdings recorded a decrease of EUR 12.2m, or 6.7% MoM.
On the yearly basis, the largest absolute increase was recorded by the money market holdings, which grew by EUR 41m, or 120.9%, followed by shares, which increased by EUR 34m, or 1.2%, and finally, bonds, which grew by EUR 21m, or 3.1%. On the other hand, cash holdings decreased by EUR 29m, or 14.5%, while deposits and loans decreased by EUR 23m or 70.7%.
Moving on to the current AUM structure, shares still hold the vast majority, at 70.4% of the total, representing a decrease of 0.1 p.p. MoM, but an increase of 0.4 p.p. YoY. Following them we have bonds, at 16.4% of the total, representing an increase of 0.6 p.p. MoM, and 0.4 p.p. YoY. The only other noteworthy asset classes are investment funds, which hold 6.7% of the total, remaining unchanged MoM, and decreasing by 0.3 p.p. YoY, as well as money market, deposits & cash holdings, which account for 6.1% of the total, representing a decrease of 0.4 p.p. MoM, and 0.3 p.p. YoY.
Total assets of Slovenian mutual funds (June 2007 – March 2023, EURbn)
Source: ATVP, InterCapital Research
Taking a closer look at the largest category, equity holdings, in terms of their origin, domestic equity holdings amounted to EUR 61.4m, decreasing by 10.5% YoY, but increasing by 0.1% MoM. On the other hand, foreign equity holdings amounted to EUR 2.9bn, an increase of 1.7% MoM, and 1.4% YoY.
Equity holdings of Slovenian UCITS funds (October 2007 – March 2023, EURm)
Source: ATVP, InterCapital Research
The change in value in these assets can come from several directions, including the inherent increase/decrease in the value of underlying assets due to market conditions, the decision of the fund managers to increase/decrease their positions in certain assets, and finally, the net contributions into or redemptions from the funds. In March 2023, the net contributions amounted to EUR 27.6m, representing an increase of over 4.4x YoY (albeit March 2022 recorded EUR 5m of net contributions into the funds, affected by the start of the war in Ukraine). Because of this, the increase is not so noteworthy, but more of a return to normal. In terms of the numbers in the last twelve months, the net contributions during this period amounted to EUR 222.7m, a decrease of 43% YoY.
Net contributions into the Slovenian mutual funds (January 2016 – March 2023, EURm)
Source: ATVP, InterCapital Research
The overall lower net contributions into the funds over the last twelve months can show us that even though the Slovenian people are still investing in the funds, the rate of investment is a lot lower than a year ago. Of course, the twelve months preceding March 2022 also included 2021, which by itself was one of the best years of record for not only the Slovenian equity market but also the international equity markets. As the majority of the funds’ investments are indeed into equity, the net contributions during this period were higher. Now, with high inflation rates and thus continued pressure on disposable income, lower net contributions could be expected. Despite this, the number of subscribers to the funds is still growing, and at the end of March 2023, the funds recorded a total of 514.6k subscribers, representing an increase of 3.4% YoY.
