Market of unit investment funds gets back to growth in Q2
Against the background of the stock market recovery, the volume of unit investment fund (UIF) portfolios grew by 4.7% to total 4.382 trillion rubles in Q2 after a decline in Q1 due to the pandemic. Portfolios of funds for non-qualified investors increased by 6.3% to 974 billion rubles, according to the latest issue of ‘UIF Market Trends’.
Open-ended unit investment funds (OUIFs) (up 12.5% to 532.1 billion rubles in Q2) and exchange-traded funds (up 35.9% to 31.5 billion rubles) continue to gain popularity among retail investors. Volumes increased due to the influx of new investors, as well as due to market stabilisation and a lower key rate.
The weighted average yield of OUIFs recovered right after the market: it was 6% in Q2, and 1.9% in H1. After a setback in Q1, the highest returns in Q2 were shown by open-ended funds focused on shares. The returns on foreign and Russian equity funds for the quarter were 14.8% and 10.3% respectively, but the latter's half-year returns remained negative: −10.9%. OUIFs of Russian bonds, the most common among retail investors, returned to ‘plus’ and showed a yield of 4.6% for the quarter (3.9% at the end of H1).