Germany sees big fall in funds inflow into GOEF and Spezialfonds

Private investors backing off from investing in property mutual funds

Inflows into Germany's open-ended real estate funds (GOEF) declined significantly throughout 2022, according to German fund association BVI, in an indication that the broader public is beginning to shun further exposure to the troubled sector.

In Q4 of 2022, about €4.2bn was invested in open-ended real estate mutual and Spezialfunds, down from about €6bn in the corresponding period a year previously. Mutual funds were hit hardest, at €473m down by more than two-thirds from the previous year's €1.6bn, highlighting the new mood of uncertainty in the private sector, while the more institutionally-focused Spezialfonds held up better at €3.7bn compared to €4.6bn in Q42021

For the year as a whole, net inflows into mutual funds fell from about €7.2bn to €4.5bn. Of this, €2.4 billion of this flowed into the accounts of Union Investment, with €1.5 billion going to the Deka Group.

The total value of assets under management in the GOEF sector increased slightly by €6bn year-on-year to €131bn. Union Investment accounted for €45bn, the Deka Group for €40.5bn, Commerz Real Group for €17.4bn euros, the DWS Group for €15.1bn and Catella Real Estate AG for about €4.4bn.

At €12.97bn, inflows into open-ended Spezial real estate funds were almost on a par with the previous year (€13.08bn). However, the assets under management of the Spezialfonds increased significantly from around €135bn at the end of 2021 to around €156 bn.

The largest managers of Spezialfonds are Intreal with €22.2bn and the Universal Investment Group with €21.7bn, followed by the PATRIZIA Group (€18.3bn) and Union Investment (€15bn).