Cyprus’ Assets Under Management Reach €9.1 Billion — €2.4 Billion Invested Locally

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) released its quarterly bulletin on Wednesday, revealing that the number of Management Companies and Undertakings of Collective Investments (UCIs) under its supervision remained stable at 328 during the first quarter of 2024.

This represents a slight decline from the 335 entities monitored during the same period last year, reflecting a decrease of 2.09 percent.

Among these entities, there are 226 Externally Managed UCIs, 33 Internally Managed UCIs, and 69 External Fund Managers. The landscape includes 42 Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs), 51 Sub-threshold AIFMs, 3 UCITS Management Companies, and 6 entities holding dual licenses (AIFMs and UCITS Management Companies).

CySEC reported a total of €9.1 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM) for Q1 2024, indicating a notable increase of 6.35 percent from the previous quarter. However, compared to the same period in 2023, there was a decrease of 14.89 percent. The Net Asset Value (NAV) of UCIs managed by these entities stood at €8.6 billion.

A breakdown of AUM by management category shows that 59 percent is managed by AIFMs, 18 percent by AIFMs and UCITS Management Companies combined, 11 percent by Sub-threshold AIFMs, and another 11 percent by UCITS Management Companies. It is noteworthy that only 1 percent of AUM is managed by Regulated UCIs overseen by Foreign Fund Managers.

Within the UCITS segment, 90.6 percent of AUM was invested in Transferable Securities, with 6.9 percent in UCITS and other UCIs, and 1.4 percent in bank deposits. For AIFs, AIFLNPs, and RAIFs, significant allocations included 32.6 percent in Private Equity, 17.3 percent in Real Estate, 12.2 percent in Hedge Funds, and 11.1 percent in Funds of Funds.

Out of the total 224 UCIs operational, 75 percent are domiciled in Cyprus, comprising 13 UCITS, 52 AIFs, 46 AIFLNPs, and 88 RAIFs. Investments in Cyprus, amounting to €2.4 billion, represent 26.8 percent of total AUM, with 65.7 percent directed towards Private Equity and 13.5 percent towards Real Estate.

Investor categorization reveals that 99.2 percent of UCITS investors are retail investors, while for AIFs, AIFLNPs, and RAIFs, 67.8 percent are well-informed investors, 19.8 percent are professional investors, and 12.4 percent are retail investors. Sector-wise, notable investments during Q1 2024 included €533.3 million in Energy (5.858 percent of total AUM), €220.4 million in Fintech (2.421 percent), €657.9 million in Shipping (7.226 percent), and €95.1 million in Sustainable Investments (1.044 percent).

By fLEXI tEAM