The Malta Financial Services Authority publishes a Report entitled an “Analysis of Collective Investment Schemes licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority".
Figures released by the MFSA indicate a 13% growth in the Net Asset Value (NAV) of investment funds domiciled in Malta during the first six months of 2010.
This confirms the positive trend seen in the previous 6 months which had also seen a growth of 13%. The increase in the net asset value was contributed by a range of funds which are recovering from the financial crises together with a number of new funds which started operating in the domicile last year. Total NAV at the end of June stood at €7.93 billion, after it had declined to around €6 billion at the height of the crisis in June 2009.
The strongest expansion is in the Professional Investor Fund (PIF) segment, despite the significant restructuring that has been taking place in this area to reflect changes in investor appetite. All 51 funds licenced by the MFSA in the first six months of 2010 were in fact PIFs.
These new licences bring the tally of Professional Investor Funds domiciled in Malta as at the end of June to 331. By comparison the number of UCITS funds remained the same at 45, while the number of non-UCITS stood at 33, three less than in December of the previous year. Another 26 overseas funds are authorised to be retailed in Malta.
Out of 104 Schemes into which the funds are grouped, 72 are Multi-fund structures, 20 are stand-alone funds and 12 are Master/Feeder structures.
As at June 2010, diversified funds were the largest asset category, accounting for almost 51% of all the locally based funds. Equity funds were the second most common category with a share of 19% of the total number of funds while derivative funds accounted for 12%. There were no new authorisations for money market funds during the first six months.
