Sun, Nov 22 2009
The net assets of Bulgarian mutual funds have slid 20 per cent to just above 690 million leva between June and September, industry data has showed. This is a staggering 40 per cent down from December 2007, when the funds managed more than 1.15 billion leva.
The companies blamed the decrease on the dire conditions on the local and foreign bourses following the global economic crisis. The European association of asset managers EFAMA estimated that 15 per cent of the net outflow on the continent is due to actual withdrawals, while the stock market correction thawed the other 85 per cent of the losses.
Market watchers have said that the bankruptcy filing of US investment bank Lehman Brothers and the string of other US and European financial institutions running into trouble have scared Bulgarian investors away from mutual funds.
Some Bulgarian funds saw their net assets fall by 10-12 per cent in the last two weeks of September after the Bulgarian Stock Exchange indices slipped to three-year lows.
The $700 billion bailout package approved by the US congress is expected to lift the battered markets and boost the world economy.
Pioneer Investments topped the Bulgarian mutual funds market in the nine months to September with assets of 146 million leva. The runner-up was Elana Fund Management, followed by DSK Asset Management.
Source: Dnevnik.bg
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