Net assets of undertakings for collective investment (UCIs) were at €4.69trn at the end of September, financial sector regulator CSSF said in a statement published on 2 November. This was up 2.76% compared to the same month last year.

Investment funds in Luxembourg shed more than half a trillion euros in net assets in March in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The crash had put an end to a year of growth, which had peaked in January with more than €4.8trn of assets under management.

While the industry has not fully made up for the losses, it has recovered to its levels of the previous year.

But as the virus resurges so does economic uncertainty. The CSSF reported a 0.01% decrease in net assets in September--around €576mn--compared to the end of August. Rising infection rates, possible regional lockdowns and disagreements on rescue packages all contributed to the downward trend in European, US, Japanese, Eastern European, Asian and Latin American equities, the CSSF said in its analysis.

Some of these fears have now been confirmed, such as partial lockdowns in France and Germany, raising questions about whether the slight dip in September could become worse in the fourth quarter.

The number of UCIs in September fell to 3,649 funds divided into 14,639 fund units, compared to 3,655 UCIs divided into 14,686 units the month before.