The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on Tuesday reported that assets under management (AUM) by Collective Investments surged to €10.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024.

This represents a quarter-on-quarter increase of 10.21 per cent, as well as a year-on-year rise of 17.66 per cent.

The growth is primarily attributed to the successful raising of new capital across the sector.

According to CySEC’s quarterly statistics bulletin, a total of 321 Management Companies and Undertakings of Collective Investments (UCIs) were under supervision during the final quarter of 2024.

This figure marks a slight year-on-year decrease of 2.13 per cent from 328 entities in the same period in 2023.

The total includes 220 Externally Managed UCIs, 32 Internally Managed UCIs, and 69 External Fund Managers.

Of the Management Companies, 45 are Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs), 48 are Sub-threshold AIFMs, 3 are UCITS Management Companies, and 5 entities hold dual licences as both AIFMs and UCITS Management Companies.

Net Asset Value (NAV) of the UCIs managed by these entities stood at €9.6 billion at the end of the reporting period.

A breakdown of asset management responsibilities showed that 60 per cent of AUM was handled by AIFMs, while 18 per cent was under the joint management of AIFMs and UCITS Management Companies.

Sub-threshold AIFMs managed 11 per cent, UCITS Management Companies held 10 per cent, and only 1 per cent was managed by foreign fund managers.

Within UCITS, the majority of assets—87.6 per cent—were invested in transferable securities.

An additional 9.2 per cent was invested in UCITS and other UCIs, and 2 per cent in bank deposits.

In terms of AIFs, AIFLNPs, and RAIFs, 30.4 per cent of total AUM was invested in private equity, while real estate accounted for 14.7 per cent.

Investments in Funds of Funds made up 13.9 per cent, and hedge funds held a 10.6 per cent share.

The data also highlighted the operational activity of 227 UCIs, of which 201 are domiciled in Cyprus.

These include 12 UCITS, 50 AIFs, 42 AIFLNPs, and 97 RAIFs, together holding 75 per cent of the total AUM.

It should be noted that 166 of these UCIs invest in Cyprus either partially or entirely, with such investments totalling €2.9 billion, equivalent to 28.63 per cent of total AUM.

Of these Cyprus-based investments, 65.2 per cent are in private equity and 13.5 per cent in real estate.

Regarding the composition of investors, UCITS continue to attract predominantly retail investors, who make up 99.1 per cent of unitholders.

Conversely, for AIFs, AIFLNPs and RAIFs, 64 per cent of unitholders are well-informed investors, 23.9 per cent are professional investors, and 12.1 per cent are retail.

Sector-specific investment figures reveal that €709.2 million (7.042 per cent of total AUM) was allocated to the shipping sector, €496.3 million (4.928 per cent) to energy, €258.1 million (2.562 per cent) to fintech, and €86.4 million (0.858 per cent) to sustainable investments.