Private equity leads alternative fund investments in Cyprus

The assets under management of Cyprus’ collective investment sector fell to €11.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to figures published on Wednesday by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), reflecting a 1.97 per cent quarter-on-quarter decline.

CySEC’s latest quarterly statistics bulletin showed that it supervised 312 management companies and undertakings of collective investments (UCIs) during the period, down from 321 entities in the corresponding quarter of 2024.

The regulator explained that the total comprised 217 externally managed UCIs, 30 internally managed UCIs and 65 external fund managers.

Among the management companies, there were 45 Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs), 45 sub-threshold AIFMs, two UCITS management companies and three dual-licence entities authorised to operate as both AIFMs and UCITS management companies.

The report showed that total assets under management (AUM) stood at €11.2bn, representing a 1.97 per cent decrease compared with the third quarter of 2025.

At the same time, the net asset value (NAV) of UCIs managed by these firms amounted to €10.1bn.

CySEC’s figures indicate that 62.4 per cent of assets under management were overseen by AIFMs, while 17.1 per cent were managed by dual-licensed AIFM and UCITS management companies.

A further 11.2 per cent of assets were managed by UCITS management companies, 8.7 per cent by sub-threshold AIFMs and 0.6 per cent by regulated UCIs managed by foreign fund managers.

The data also highlighted the different investment profiles of UCITS and alternative investment funds.

Among UCITS, which are regulated investment funds typically marketed to retail investors across the European Union, 85.2 per cent of assets under management were invested in transferable securities, 12 per cent in other UCITS and collective investment undertakings, and 2.6 per cent in bank deposits.

For alternative investment funds (AIFs), AIFLNPs and Registered Alternative Investment Funds (RAIFs), private equity represented the largest investment category at 32.8 per cent of assets under management.

Real estate accounted for 20.4 per cent of these funds’ investments, while funds of funds represented 10.9 per cent and hedge funds made up 9.7 per cent.

The remaining 26.2 per cent of assets fell under the broad “other” investment category.

Within private equity, 37.3 per cent of investments were allocated to multi-strategy capital, 33.2 per cent to growth capital, 17.7 per cent to venture capital, and 0.7 per cent to mezzanine financing.

Within the “other” investment category, 36.1 per cent was invested in equity capital, 13.6 per cent in fixed income and 7.1 per cent in cash and cash equivalents, while commodities and infrastructure accounted for 1.7 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively.

The report also showed that 72.2 per cent of total assets under management were held by 209 UCIs domiciled in Cyprus, consisting of 11 UCITS, 51 AIFs, 40 AIFLNPs and 107 RAIFs.

Out of the 233 UCIs with active operations, 170 invested either partly or entirely in Cyprus, with those investments exceeding €2.9bn, equivalent to 26 per cent of total assets under management.

Within Cyprus, 70.3 per cent of investments were directed towards private equity, while 12.7 per cent were allocated to real estate.

The statistics also provided insight into the sector’s investor base.

Among UCITS, 99 per cent of investors were retail investors, representing a total of 8,714 investors.

For AIFs, AIFLNPs and RAIFs, the regulator recorded 3,775 investors, of whom 64.2 per cent were classified as well-informed investors, 26.7 per cent as professional investors and 9.1 per cent as retail investors.

CySEC also broke down investment exposure to selected sectors.

The energy sector accounted for €478 million, representing 4.27 per cent of total assets under management.

Investments in fintech reached €123.2m, equal to 1.1 per cent of total assets, the commission reported.

The shipping sector, meanwhile, attracted €637.8m, accounting for 5.69 per cent of assets under management.

Finally, the commission reported sustainable investments totalled €100.7m, representing 0.90 per cent of the sector’s overall assets.