Outstanding assets for capital-protected funds in Belgium have reached their lowest levels in the last 10 years.

Net assets for capital-protected structured funds in Belgium stood at €4.6 billion at the end of June 2018, down by two percent from the previous quarter, according to the latest figures released by the Belgian Asset Managers Association (Beama).

As of June 30 2019, capital-protected funds made up 2.32% of the total Belgian fund market, with €4.68 billion of outstanding assets linked to equities and €0.01 billion tied to interest rates, loans and currencies.

Since 2009, when assets stood at €29.4 billion, capital-protected funds have shown a steady decline – with the exception of 2014, when the market increased by €1.1 billion – a trend reflected in figures for structured funds registered in the SRP Belgium database. In 2009, €5.3 billion was collected from 167 products that were available via BNP Paribas Fortis, Bpost Bank, CBC Banque, Centea, Dexia AM, and KBC. This year to date there have been just 28 funds worth approximately €546m, with KBC the sole provider.

Sales volumes for individual funds have also significantly decreased during the years, according to SRP data. The best-selling structure of the year so far, KBC’s Perspective North America 100 Timing USD 5, sold €26m during its subscription period in July, down from the €232m collected by Equisafe Duo Coupon 4, also from KBC, in 2010.

The Belgian fund sector as a whole experienced a 4.6% increase in the second quarter of 2019. End-June 2019, the total net assets of publicly distributed funds in Belgium amounted to €198.8 billion, up from €190.2 billion the previous quarter.

Equity funds registered the largest increase during the period, from €50.2 billion on March 31, to €54.5 billion on June 30, while within the category mixed funds, the pension savings funds increased by €0.5 billion, establishing a new ‘all time high’ in net assets, at €20.1 billion.

‘The Belgian fund market almost fully recovered from a difficult year-end 2018 in the second quarter of 2019, mainly due to gains of the underlying assets,’ said Marnix Arickx (pictured), chairman, Beama.

Click the link to view the Beama figures for the second quarter of 2019 (Dutch/French).