According to the latest data from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (ΕΚΚ), total assets under management decreased by 0.64% to €8.56 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the third quarter of 2023 and by 11.14% year-on-year.
ΕΚΚ now has 328 collective investment management companies and collective investment organizations under management, compared to 335 in the third quarter of 2023 and 333 in the corresponding quarter of 2022. This means that their number has decreased by 2.13% and 1.52%, respectively.
Meanwhile, only 220 companies are operating. Of the total number of companies, 224 are operating environments with external management, 34 with internal management and 70 with external managers. The total number of management companies includes 44 AIFMs, 52 AIFMs - "below limits", 3 UCITS management companies and 5 companies with dual license (AIFM and UCITS management companies).
In terms of investment policy, 90.6% of assets managed by UCITS in the fourth quarter of 2023 were invested in securities, 5.6% in UCITS and OSE mutual funds, and 2.8% in bank deposits. In turn, AIF, AIFLNP and RAIF invested mainly in private equity (33.3%). Equity investments accounted for 10.1%, real estate 12.9%, compensation capital 11% and other.
Interestingly, 76.6% of assets under management in the fourth quarter of 2023 came from 199 Cypriot OSEs.
Of these, 159 invest partially or fully in Cyprus, with the amount of these investments corresponding to €2.4 billion or 28% of total assets under management. In turn, 64.4% of investments in Cyprus relate to direct investments, while real estate investments account for 12.8%.
In terms of investor classification, in UCITS 99.2% are private investors, while in the other funds, 66.7% are professional investors, 21.2% are qualified investors and only 12.1% are private investors.
Finally, in terms of sector-specific OSE investments in the fourth quarter of 2023, assets under management in the energy sector totaled €529.1 million (6.181% of total ESA), in the financial technology sector €186.1 million (2.175% of total ESA), in the shipping sector €657.1 million (7.677% of total ESA), and in sustainable investments €83.9 million (0.98% of total ESA).