EuroPlus monetary fund managed by Raiffeisen Asset Management has reached net assets worth more than 50 million euros from over 1,500 investors in its first weeks in business.
EuroPlus is an open-ended investment fund, denominated in euros, which invests in fixed-income instruments denominated in the single European currency, such as bonds, government securities and bank deposits, as an instrument particularly sought after by investors looking for protection or for profits from a potential depreciation of the RON against the euro.
Individual investors account for approximately 70% of the fund's assets, that is about 35 million euros, while legal entities account for 30%.
The average interest of an individual investor amounts to almost 22,000 euros, which is much higher than the 4,300-euro average on the mutual fund market. "Private banking clients account for a significant share of the EuroPlus fund's assets. One or two private banking investors have interest in excess of one million euros," said Mihail Ion, chairman of Raiffeisen Asset Management (RAM).
RAM is the second leading manager of mutual funds, with total net assets managed worth more than 206 million euros from over 22,400 investors. The total net assets of the 51 funds on the market exceeded the 3 billion-RON (725 million-euro) threshold at the end of November.
Raiffeisen's boss believes that if a sustainable growth of the mutual fund market is to be achieved, the investors need to also focus on riskier instruments.
The evolution of the mutual fund industry next year will depend on how managers will persuade investors to take on more risks, after over the last two years only the investment funds with conservative strategies have attracted money from investors.
"The big bet of 2010 will be to attract investors towards riskier investments. This will largely depend on
