The total assets of euro area investment funds decreased to EUR 4,243 billion at end-December 2008, from EUR 4,713 billion in September 2008. This development was mainly due to a fall in the amount outstanding of shares and other equity, from EUR 1,411 billion to EUR 1,134 billion.

A breakdown of the assets side of the aggregated balance sheet of euro area investment funds shows that at end-December 2008 holdings of securities other than shares accounted for 40% 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 breakdown by investment policy, the share of total assets held in bond funds stood at 32% at end-December 2008. Mixed funds accounted for 29% of total assets, equity funds for 21% and real estate funds for 6%.