EFAMA’s Fact Book shows sustained growth of ETFs and further confirms UCITS as the gold standard for investment funds.
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has today published its 2026 industry Fact Book. This year’s edition includes an in-depth analysis of trends in the European investment fund industry, with a special emphasis on what happened last year. It also contains a series of info boxes addressing important regulatory topics that EFAMA is actively working on, including the MISP, retail investment, AML, pensions, the Digital Omnibus, and more.
Highlights on the long-term industry trends include:
Fund costs are coming down across the board for all major long-term UCITS types.
Equity UCITS saw their average costs gradually drop over the past five years, declining by 18 basis points. The average cost of bond UCITS dropped by 5 basis points over the same period. Multi-asset UCITS costs have barely changed; fees decreased by only 1 basis point.
Larger funds account for an ever-increasing share of the UCITS market.
UCITS funds smaller than EUR 100 million accounted for less than 3% of the total net assets of UCITS in 2025, with a rapidly declining share. In contrast, the proportion of larger funds - those over EUR 1 billion and over EUR 10 billion - continues to rise, helped by increased demand for ETFs and MMFs.
Passive UCITS are continuing their inexorable rise.
The market share of passive UCITS rose from 13% in 2015 to 30% by the end of 2025. This sharp rise reflects the growing appeal of ETFs as lower-cost and easily accessible investment options.
The UCITS industry is becoming more international.
The share of cross-border funds (both held in another EU country and outside the EU) has grown steadily. This trend confirms the vitality of the single market for UCITS and its success as a global financial export, now sold in over 50 countries beyond the EU, particularly in Asia and South America.
The share of US stocks in equity UCITS portfolios fell in 2025, bucking a ten-year trend.
Between 2015 and 2024, the share of European equities declined, while US exposure rose sharply. In 2025, this trend reversed as European equities recovered, driven by stronger market performance, renewed interest in European equity funds and a depreciation of the US dollar against the euro.
Key findings for 2025:
UCITS had a record-breaking year, with net sales reaching EUR 814 bn.
Bond UCITS attracted strong inflows in 2025, supported by continued rate cuts. Equity UCITS also saw robust demand amid solid market performances, while multi-asset UCITS returned to positive territory. At the same time, solid MMF inflows reflected investor caution amid geopolitical and currency volatility.
European household fund purchases reached an all-time high.
Flows were positive in all but three countries, indicating a broad-based trend across Europe. With direct retail bond purchases declining and retail investment in listed stocks remaining negligible, it becomes increasingly clear that households rely almost exclusively on investment funds for direct exposure to capital markets.
For the third consecutive year, net sales of ETFs reached a new record.
UCITS ETFs attracted EUR 347 billion in net sales in 2025. Record net inflows into ETFs were driven primarily by equity ETFs. These contrast with the non-ETF equity UCITS, which saw net outflows throughout 2025, their third year of net outflows.
SFDR Article 9 fund flows remained negative, while Article 8 and 6 fund inflows picked up.
Net sales of SFDR Article 9 funds were negative in 2025, continuing the trend seen in 2024. Conversely, Article 6 and Article 8 funds saw net inflows pick up. This contrast was largely driven by the high demand for ETFs.
Average annual 2025 performances for major UCITS types were below the 5-year averages.
In 2025, equity UCITS returned 8.5%, bond UCITS 0.4%, multi-asset UCITS 5.5%, and MMFs -2.5%, with only multi-asset UCITS outperforming their five-year average. Most 2025 returns were negatively affected by depreciation of the US dollar that year, which had a particularly strong impact on MMFs.
EFAMA’s Director General, Tanguy van de Werve commented: “This latest edition of the EFAMA Fact Book highlights several positive developments for the European fund industry in 2025: record UCITS net sales, all-time high fund purchases by EU retail investors, and a renewed allocation to European equities in fund portfolios. It illustrates how asset managers are helping to accomplish some of the Savings and Investment Union (SIU) objectives, namely mobilising household savings, financing the real economy, and strengthening the EU’s position as a global investment hub.”
Thomas Tilley, Deputy Director of Research & Senior Economist at EFAMA commented: "Every year, the EFAMA research team aims to deepen its analysis of the European investment fund industry. Among the vast array of data and insights, I would like to highlight a few emerging trends that might otherwise go unnoticed. These include a shift in fixed-income fund portfolios towards shorter-term securities, a decrease in the appeal of real estate and inflation-linked bond funds, a resurgence of sector-specific equity UCITS, and a steady increase in fund ownership by insurers in recent years."
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Notes to Editors
Graphs and country-specific data are available for reproduction.
For further information, please contact:
Hayley McEwen
Head of communications and member development
