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Increased purchases of bond funds
The total value of the Norwegian mutual fund shares went up by NOK 28.5 billion to NOK 609.7 billion during the fourth quarter of 2012. Net purchase of fund shares was NOK 23 billion.
| 1st quarter 2012 | 2nd quarter 2012 | 3rd quarter 2012 | 4th quarter 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All sectors | ||||
| Mutual funds shares capital | 562 137 | 550 046 | 581 203 | 609 700 |
| Net purchases/sales | 12 194 | 2 995 | 8 732 | 22 978 |
| General government | ||||
| Mutual funds shares capital | 13 413 | 13 676 | 13 647 | 12 967 |
| Net purchases/sales | -218 | 362 | -432 | -771 |
| Financial corporations | ||||
| Mutual funds shares capital | 298 587 | 300 788 | 319 945 | 335 906 |
| Net purchases/sales | 10 080 | 6 699 | 7 677 | 14 800 |
| Non-financial corporations | ||||
| Mutual funds shares capital | 45 900 | 43 919 | 47 270 | 50 843 |
| Net purchases/sales | -212 | -1 747 | 1 920 | 1 709 |
| Households | ||||
| Mutual funds shares capital | 103 733 | 98 123 | 101 493 | 103 624 |
| Net purchases/sales | -1 844 | -1 172 | -1 445 | 1 135 |
| Non-profit institutions serving households | ||||
| Mutual funds shares capital | 19 871 | 19 515 | 20 915 | 21 364 |
| Net purchases/sales | 926 | 464 | 717 | 762 |
| Rest of the world | ||||
| Mutual funds shares capital | 80 415 | 73 751 | 77 729 | 84 800 |
| Net purchases/sales | 3 503 | -1 608 | 301 | 5 338 |
| Unspecified sector | ||||
| Mutual funds shares capital | 218 | 274 | 204 | 196 |
| Net purchases/sales | -41 | -3 | -6 | 5 |
The increase in the total capital of mutual funds went up by 4.9 per cent during the 4th quarter of 2012 mainly due to the high net purchases of funds. The bond funds went up by 12.3 per cent, and other bond funds were up 11.7 per cent. The value of the equity funds also went up 2.8 per cent. Money market fund shares, however, were 1.4 per cent lower compared to the previous quarter.
The NOK 23 billion net purchase of funds during the last quarter of the year was the highest in volume during the year of 2012. Life insurance companies and foreign investors purchased the most, with NOK 9.5 billion and NOK 5.3 billion respectively.
Increase in the total capital of mutual funds in 2012
The total value of the mutual funds went up NOK 83.9 billion during 2012. The reason can mostly be attributed to net purchases amounting to NOK 46.9 billion during last year, while the rest of the increase was due to an increase in the prices of the mutual funds shares. The investors preferred to buy bond funds and sold mostly money market funds throughout the year.
Bond funds and equity funds were popular
Investors net bought NOK 14.7 billion bond funds and NOK 3.5 billion worth of other bond funds. NOK 6 billion worth of equity funds was also net bought, while NOK 2.4 billion worth was net sold.
Life insurance companies’ investment continued
The largest owners in the Norwegian mutual funds market; life insurance companies, bought a net amount of NOK 9.6 billion worth of bond funds in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Households net bought in the 4th quarter
After net selling three consecutive quarters in 2012, the household sector started buying mutual fund shares again, and net bought mutual funds totalling NOK 1.2 billion in the last quarter of 2012. They mainly bought bond funds and hybrid funds, while net selling equity funds and money market funds.
Foreign investors were eager buyers of equity funds in the fourth quarter
Foreign investors net purchased a total of NOK 5.3 billion of mutual funds during the 4th quarter of 2012. Most of the purchases were in equity funds, which totalled NOK 4.1 billion.
Life insurance companies’ owner share went slightly down
The life insurance companies’ owner share went down by 0.1 percentage points to 37.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012. Households’ owner share was also lower than the previous quarter, at 17 per cent. Foreign investors’ owner share on the other hand went up to 13.9 per cent compared to the owner share of 13.4 per cent in the previous quarter.
Institutional sector classification 2012Open and readClose
The institutional sector classification has been revised. New four-digit sector codes have been introduced and the definitions of some sectors in the classification have been changed. The revised sector classification will be implemented in the Norwegian statistical system over the next two years.
The new sector classification was adopted in the mutual funds statistics at the beginning of 2012. One of the most significant changes is that the line between financial and non-financial sectors has been shifted such that the financial sectors increased in value. In addition to this, new financial sectors were added. Households and non-profit institutions will also be treated separately according to the new institutional sector classification.
Following the introduction of a new sector standard, the older series will not be updated. New tables have been introduced and these will include time series from the first quarter of 2012 onwards.
Changes in classification of fundsOpen and readClose
Statistics Norway has decided to introduce changes in the classification of the funds as of 1 January 2012. This decision is in line with the Norwegian Fund and Asset Management Association’s (VFF) standards, which were introduced in 2010. According to this, a new group called ‘other bond funds’ was introduced and the money market funds were defined more precisely.
Additional information
Contact
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Ayfer Erbaydar Storrud
E-mail: ayfer.storrud@ssb.no
tel.: (+47) 21 09 44 46
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Ole Petter Rygvold
E-mail: ole-petter.rygvold@ssb.no
tel.: (+47) 21 09 43 61
