According to new data from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CSC), total assets under management increased significantly to €10.21 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024 (+10.21% compared to the third quarter of 2024 and +17.66% year-on-year).
ΕΚΚ currently manages 321 collective investment management companies and collective investment organisations, compared with 328 in the corresponding quarter of 2023. This represents a decrease of 2.13%.
At the same time, only 227 companies are active. Of the total number of companies, 220 are externally managed, 32 are internally managed and 69 are externally managed. The total number of management companies includes 45 AIFM, 48 AIFM "below limits", 3 UCITS management companies and 5 companies with dual authorisation (AIFM and UCITS management companies).
In terms of investment policy, 87% of the assets managed by UCITS in the fourth quarter of 2002 were invested in transferable securities, 9.2% in UCITS and OSE investment funds and 3.2% in bank deposits. AIF, AIFLNP and RAIF invested mainly in private equity (30.4%). Shares accounted for 13.9%, real estate for 14.7%, compensatory capital for 10.6% and other.
Interestingly, 201 Cypriot OSEs accounted for 75% of assets under management in the fourth quarter of 2024. Of these, 166 are partly or fully invested in Cyprus, with a value of EUR 2.9 billion, or 28.63% of total assets under management. In turn, 65.2% of investments in Cyprus are direct investments, while real estate investments account for 6.17%.
In terms of investor classification, 99.2% of UCITS are retail investors, while 66.7% of other funds are professional investors, 21.2% are qualified investors and only 12.1% are retail investors.
Finally, in terms of sector-specific OSE investments in the fourth quarter of 2024, assets under management in the energy sector amounted to 496.3 million euro (4.928% of total ESA), in the financial technology sector to 258.1 million euro (2.562% of total ESA), in the shipping sector to 709.2 million euro (7.042% of total ESA) and in sustainable investments to 86.4 million euro (0.858% of total ESA).