2022 Swiss fund market shrinks 13.7%

The Swiss fund market dropped by 13.7% in 2022, with the country's Asset Management Association branding 2018 "the most difficult investing year since 2008".

According to the trade body's year-end analysis, 1,325 billion Swiss francs were held in Swiss funds as of December 31, 2022. In comparison, the previous year's figure was 1,534 billion Swiss francs.

Performance losses accounted for 13.3% of this decrease, with 204.6 billion Swiss francs lost due to market fluctuations alone.

Flows were subdued throughout the year, with a net outflow of 5 billion Swiss francs by December 31.

4.6 billion Swiss francs were committed to stock and bond funds by investors in the fourth quarter. Money market funds were popular throughout the year as investors sought liquidity. This resulted in net inflows totaling 20.1 billion Swiss francs.

The trade group discovered that bond funds experienced the most outflows, with investors redeeming a total of 17.4 billion Swiss francs.

Equity funds, which account for 42.6% of the Swiss fund market, had the second worst net outflows of the year, totaling 7.3 billion Swiss francs.

These strategies did the poorest, with a year-to-year underperformance of 20.7%.

However, Asset Management Association managing director Adrian Schatzmann expressed confidence in the fourth-quarter limit to outflows and resumption to net inflows.

“In one of the most difficult investment years ever, Switzerland as a fund location proved its strengths despite a decline in volume,” said Schatzmann. “Investors remained calm and adjusted their asset allocation accordingly, despite the at times severe market distortions.”

In terms of market share, UBS remained the top provider, followed by Credit Suisse and Swisscanto, in that order.

Data from the previous year reveal a compression at the top, with Swisscanto, BlackRock, and Pictet all increasing market share at the expense of UBS and Credit Suisse.

By fLEXI tEAM