11 new mutual funds waiting to enter the market

The mutual fund market is likely to include a further 11 funds, which are awaiting autho0risation from the National Securities Commission (CNVM), according to the commission’s representatives. Eight new funds were launched on the market last year, while the number of new entrants stands at four this year, with the market currently including 33 open-ended investment funds with assets worth 250m euros, way below the average of EU states, where 1,400 open-ended investment funds with net assets of 270bn euros are operational on average. The development of the domestic industry will entail the launch of specialised investment funds and funds with placements on foreign capital markets, believes Radu Hanga, chairman with BT Asset Management. Nevertheless, it is not so much the number of open-ended investment funds that is relevant for the development of this industry, but the value of assets and the degree of penetration. Factors that can speed up the development process are Romanians’ rising appetite for investments, the development of the capital market and the downward trend of banking deposit interest rates, which will “act as a catalyst for the development of the investment fund industry,” believes Hanga.