UCITS break out of Europe to conquer the world

摘要

They are advertised on the sides of buses in Hong Kong. They are widely promoted in the newspapers of Sao Paulo and Cape Town. Investment products described formally as undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) have become a global investment brand. This is reflected in the growth of assets held by European fund managers, which last year rose to a record €7925bn. UCITS sales are growing at a rate approaching 100% a year, and investment houses say that the growth shows no sign of letting up. This product of EU legislation has shown the capacity to cross borders outside its European homeland and win the hearts and pockets of wealthy mainland Chinese in Hong Kong, South African private investors and institutional fund managers based in Switzerland and London.