Cyprus’ assets under management hit €9.1 billion — €2.4 billion invested locally

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on Wednesday released its quarterly bulletin, revealing that the number of Management Companies and Undertakings of Collective Investments (UCIs) under its supervision remained steady at 328 during the first quarter of 2024.

This figure marks a slight decrease from 335 entities monitored during the same period last year, reflecting a decline of 2.09 per cent.

Within this total, there are 226 Externally Managed UCIs, 33 Internally Managed UCIs, and 69 External Fund Managers.

The landscape includes 42 Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs), 51 Sub-threshold AIFMs, 3 UCITS Management Companies, and 6 entities holding dual licenses (AIFMs and UCITS Management Companies).

In terms of Assets Under Management (AUM), CySEC reported a total of €9.1 billion for Q1 2024, indicating a notable increase of 6.35 per cent from the previous quarter.

However, compared to the same period in 2023, there was a decrease of 14.89 per cent. The Net Asset Value (NAV) of UCIs managed by these entities stood at €8.6 billion.

A breakdown of AUM by management category reveals that 59 per cent is managed by AIFMs, 18 per cent by AIFMs and UCITS Management Companies combined, 11 per cent by Sub-threshold AIFMs, and another 11 per cent by UCITS Management Companies.

It should be noted that only 1 per cent of AUM is managed by Regulated UCIs overseen by Foreign Fund Managers.

Within the UCITS segment, 90.6 per cent of AUM was invested in Transferable Securities, with 6.9 per cent in UCITS and other UCIs, and 1.4 per cent in bank deposits.

For AIFs, AIFLNPs, and RAIFs, significant allocations included 32.6 per cent in Private Equity, 17.3 per cent in Real Estate, 12.2 per cent in Hedge Funds, and 11.1 per cent in Funds of Funds.

Out of the total 224 UCIs operational, 75 per cent are domiciled in Cyprus, comprising 13 UCITS, 52 AIFs, 46 AIFLNPs, and 88 RAIFs.

Investments in Cyprus, amounting to €2.4 billion, represent 26.8 per cent of total AUM, with 65.7 per cent directed towards Private Equity and 13.5 per cent towards Real Estate.

Investor categorisation reveals that 99.2 per cent of UCITS investors are retail investors, while for AIFs, AIFLNPs, and RAIFs, 67.8 per cent are well-informed investors, 19.8 per cent are professional investors, and 12.4 per cent are retail investors.

Sector-wise, notable investments during Q1 2024 included €533.3 million in Energy (5.858 per cent of total AUM), €220.4 million in Fintech (2.421 per cent), €657.9 million in Shipping (7.226 per cent), and €95.1 million in Sustainable Investments (1.044 per cent).