The total assets of euro area investment funds increased to EUR 4,540 billion at end-June 2009, from EUR 4,099 billion in March 2009.1 This development was mainly due to a rise in the amount outstanding of shares and other equity, from EUR 1,043 billion to EUR 1,240 billion, and of securities other than shares, from EUR 1,699 billion to EUR 1,867 billion.

A breakdown of the assets side of the aggregated balance sheet of euro area investment funds shows that at end-June 2009 holdings of securities other than shares accounted for 41% of total assets. The second largest item was holdings of shares and other equity, which contributed 27% to the balance sheet total. Holdings of investment fund shares accounted for 13% of total assets, deposits for 8% and fixed assets for 5%.

In terms of the breakdown by investment policy, the share of total assets held in bond funds stood at 34% at end-June 2009. Mixed funds accounted for 27% of total assets, equity funds for 22% and real estate funds for 6%