In the past year, the focus once again shifted towards savings, with record-high levels of savings being reported. According to Rebecca Jansson, a fund economist at the Fund Companies Association, despite a mixed stock market performance, investors were buying funds almost every month except one.
New investments in funds amounted to 208 billion Swedish kronor in 2024, with the most popular choice being equity funds, which saw new investments of 130 billion kronor. An interesting trend noted by Jansson was the preference for global funds among equity fund investors.
However, balanced funds were not favored by investors, with net withdrawals totaling nearly 34 billion kronor.
Global funds saw an average increase of 19%, with funds exposed to the US performing exceptionally well, showing an average increase of 27%. This information aligns with previous reports from Placera. The total fund assets in Sweden reached 8355 billion kronor by the end of the year, with 68% of it invested in equity funds.
In addition to equity funds, bond funds were also popular among investors. New investments in long-term bond funds amounted to 83.6 billion kronor, including investments through the premium pension system. Excluding the premium pension system investments, new investments in long-term bond funds were 50 billion kronor, while 21.5 billion kronor were invested in short-term bond funds.
The breakdown of net savings in funds in 2024 is as follows:
– Equity funds: 130.2 billion kronor
– Balanced funds: -33.8 billion kronor
– Long-term bond funds: 83.7 billion kronor
– Short-term bond funds: 20.4 billion kronor
– Hedge funds: 4.2 billion kronor
– Other funds: 3.1 billion kronor
Total net savings in funds in 2024 amounted to 207.8 billion kronor, excluding the premium pension system investments.
The data presented here paints a picture of the investment landscape in Sweden in 2024, highlighting the preferences of investors and the performance of different types of funds. It will be interesting to see how these trends evolve in the coming year and what factors will influence investors’ decisions in the future.