Billionaires club: 165 funds see $1bn-plus inflows in 2008

Despite the severity of the credit crisis, a total of 165 long term funds globally each collected at least $1 billion in net flows during 2008, according to latest figures from Strategic Insight.

The New York based consultancy also found widely varying fund flow patterns in different regions of the world in 2008. The US saw a flight to safety and cash, with $600 billion going into money funds and $50 billion-plus invested in government, municipal and corporate bonds. International equities and hybrid funds, meanwhile, saw redemptions of $90 billion.

Europe, however, was hit by what the consultancy calls 'massive long term outflows'. Although specific equity categories, commodities and real estate funds saw inflows totalling $10 billion, the trend was overwhelmingly negative with more than €300 billion flowing out of European equity, fixed income and absolute return funds.

Asia was the positive story of 2008, with regional, global and emerging bond funds driving total net inflows of $43 billion.

Daniel Enskat, managing director at Strategic Insight, said: 'Signalling a U-turn for the industry, of late we have seen a shift from absolute return, VAR, enhanced money market and alternative investment approaches back to basics with asset allocation and specific sectors or themes, along with a greater distinction between low and high tracking error investments.'

2008 also saw increasing institutional flows to ETFs, he said.