Luxembourg retained its leadership in the global cross-border fund registrations domain, albeit with a slight dip of 0.4% in 2023. This finding is part of the 24th edition of the global fund distribution poster produced by PWC Luxembourg, offering insights into the trends in global fund distribution across more than 40 countries.
According to PWC, Luxembourg continued to command the global cross-border fund registration market, holding a 54.6% market share, despite a minor decline in its fund registrations. Together with Ireland, which marginally increased its share to 36.4%, they retained 91% of all cross-border funds distribution market. The total number of global true cross-border funds rose to 14,725 in 2023 from 14,607 in 2022. Additionally, there was an increase of 1.6% in global cross-border registrations, totalling 140,635 in 2023, an ascent from 138,467 the previous year.
Ucits market share
Undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (Ucits) accounted for 91.6% of all global cross-border funds, with Luxembourg leading with a 54.5% share, closely followed by Ireland with 32.0%. In 2023, both countries saw increases in their market shares for the registration of non-Ucits true cross-border funds, with Luxembourg experiencing a 0.6% rise and Ireland a 1.0% increase. Together, Luxembourg and Ireland managed a significant portion of Ucits assets, totaling €7.5trn, out of the European Ucits market’s overall €13.1trn in 2023. Equity funds constituted half of the global cross-border assets, while bond funds accounted for 27%.
Franklin Templeton and Blackrock continued to lead in cross-border distribution, with Fidelity Investments, UBS and JP Morgan also featuring prominently. The poster highlighted key regions for new registrations: Spain was the leader in Europe, Singapore in Asia-Pacific, the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East, and Bermuda demonstrated significant growth in the Americas.
Sustainable finance
In the realm of sustainable finance, Luxembourg took the lead in Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation article 8 and 9 funds, with significant portions of true cross-border funds falling under these categories, followed by Ireland and France.
Robert James Glover, advisory partner for global fund distribution at PWC Luxembourg, noted the unmistakable interest in global diversification, highlighting a significant increase in new fund registrations, with Spain seeing a particularly strong surge as investors pursued opportunities in international markets. He mentioned in a press statement that equity funds had maintained their popularity, capturing the largest share of cross-border assets. Moreover, Ucits funds had sustained their dominant status, led notably by Luxembourg. Although non-Ucits funds had yet to become the majority, their expanding market share in crucial areas such as Luxembourg and Ireland indicated a possible upcoming shift.
Glover also noted that there had been a uniform rise of 0.9% in both cross-border exchange-traded funds and mutual funds, and the total number of registrations had grown by 1.6% from the previous year. This, he said, showed the remarkable resilience of the distribution landscape, which continued to expand despite the volatile macroeconomic conditions affecting global cross-border fund distribution.
The 2024 edition of the global fund distribution poster, released on 25 March, is available .