Italy May Fund Outflows Slightly Down; Investors Dump Equities Funds

   By Gilles Castonguay 
 

MILAN--Italian asset managers registered a net outflow of 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in May, slightly less than the previous month as investors dumped equities funds, Italian industry association Assogestioni said Tuesday.

In April, the net outflow was higher, at EUR1.3 billion.

Since the beginning of the year, outflows have totalled EUR5.5 billion, which is indicative of investor fears in light of Europe's sovereign debt crisis and the uncertainties it poses for the economy and the common currency.

Shares of asset management companies, such as Banca Generali SpA (BGN.MI), Mediolanum SpA (MED.MI) and Azimut SpA (AZM.MI), as well as Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI) and UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI), are sensitive to capital flows data as inflows boost their profits from fees and commissions.

Open-ended funds, which are responsible for most of the total amount, saw a net outflow of EUR1.02 billion, the association said in its monthly statement.

Those dedicated to equities registered a net outflow of EUR1.10 billion, while those focused on bonds had an inflow of EUR851 million.

Money-market funds, meanwhile, had outflows of EUR777 million.

Write to Gilles Castonguay at [e-mail]