The total assets of euro area investment funds decreased to EUR 4,713 billion at end-September 2008, from EUR 5,015 billion in June 2008. This development was mainly due to a fall in the amount outstanding of shares and other equity, from EUR 1,624 billion to EUR 1,411 billion.

A breakdown of the assets side of the aggregated balance sheet of euro area investment funds shows that at end-September 2008 holdings of securities other than shares accounted for 37% of total assets. The second largest item was holdings of shares and other equity, which contributed 30% to the balance sheet total. Holdings of investment fund shares accounted for 14% of total assets, deposits for 8% and fixed assets for 4%.

In terms of breakdown by investment policy, the share of total assets held in bond funds and in mixed funds both stood at 29% at end-September 2008. Equity funds accounted for 24% of total assets and real estate funds for 5%.