EU Alternative Investment Funds - Annual statistical report 2021 - ESMA

Executive summary

Market structure and developments
The EU Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) market: The size of the EU AIF universe continued to  expand to reach EUR 6.8tn in net asset value (NAV) at the end of 2019, a 15% increase from 2018. The growth of the EU AIF market results from the launch of new AIFs in 2019 and positive valuation effects. Overall, AIFs accounted for 40% of the EU fund industry at the end of 2019. Professional  investors own most of the shares of AIFs, yet retail investor share is significant at 15% of the NAV, with more retail participation in FoFs (28%) and RE funds (21%). AIFs invest predominantly in the European Economic Area (EEA) and across a broad range of asset classes (securities, derivatives or funds). At the aggregate level adjusted leverage declined slightly to 182% of NAV (compared with 193% in 2018). 
Overall, there are signs of potential liquidity mismatch at short horizons, as the liquidity offered to investors is greater than the liquidity of the assets, especially for RE funds. This section also reviews  the impact of the COVID-19 related market stress on AIFs in 2020.

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