Bond funds saw third best half-year on record in H1 2024


Long-term funds gained €24.5 billion in inflows in June, with equity funds capturing half, according Morningstar’s data. In the first half of 2024, long-term funds experienced €146.8 billion in net inflows.

Morningstar’s asset flow commentary for Europe, covering June and the first half of 2024, has shown that Europe-domiciled long-term funds saw €24.5 billion in net inflows in June 2024 and €146.8 billion in the first half of the year. Equity funds maintained their momentum, attracting €12.3 billion in net inflows for the month, although active equity strategies faced net outflows.

Bond funds attracted €18.5 billion in net new subscriptions in June, marking the 19th month of positive flows out of the last 20. Both active and passive strategies saw significant net inflows, with fixed-income strategies having their third-best half-year on record in terms of flows after H1 2017 and H2 2019.

Conversely, allocation and alternative funds continued to see outflows, with €5.6 billion and €108 million in net outflows for the month, respectively. Long-term funds classified as Article 8 saw €11.5 billion in net inflows in June, while Article 9 products experienced €2.8 billion in outflows. Assets in long-term funds domiciled in Europe grew to €11.904 trillion by the end of June, up from €11.666 trillion at the end of May.

Global large-cap blend equity remained the top-selling Morningstar Category for the month, followed by US large-cap blend equity. However, UK large-cap equity funds saw the highest net outflows at the category level (€2.8 billion), followed by global large-cap growth equity funds with €2 billion in net redemptions.

iShares led the asset-gathering rankings in June, while BlackRock, Credit Suisse and Handelsbanken were the month’s biggest laggards.

Valerio Baselli, senior international editor at Morningstar, said: “June was the second-best month for long-term European funds inflows in 2024 so far, with €24.5 billion pouring in, amounting to €146.8 billion in net inflows for H1 2024. This positive sentiment was likely driven by hopes of interest-rate cuts and positive macroeconomic data on growth.”