Last year, retail investors gave more thought to financial issues than before. The popularity of fund investing increased significantly in OP Financial Group, evidenced by a notable rise in the number of fund unitholders.
“Investing become clearly more popular last year and our customers started a record number of new systematic investment plans. Balanced funds, designed for savers looking for an easy and convenient solution, remained popular products in OP. Typically customers invested in them on a monthly basis. This is good news, because it indicates that customers have long-term plans and goals for saving and investing,” says Kai Kalajainen, Director, Wealth Management at OP.
Index funds and sustainability-themed funds both ranked among the most popular funds. Investments in these accounted for 84% of the total net investments made by retail customers. Of new unitholders, up to 96% chose to invest in either sustainability-themed or index funds. The single most popular fund was OP-Climate.
Euro-denominated net subscriptions to index funds made by retail customers alone rose by 45% last year. Due to high demand OP launched new products, including OP Investment Partner, a digital investment service that encourages the customer to start and keep up with goal-oriented and responsible investing.
Alternative investment funds interest people in Finland
Besides responsible investments, investors are looking for returns in alternative investments. Euro-denominated net subscriptions to alternative funds grew by 62%. These funds invest in, for example, real property such as real estate, infrastructure, agriculture and forestry, unlisted equities, direct lending and various hedge fund strategies.
The OP-Alternative Portfolio special common fund launched last autumn raised over 100 million euros from retail customers in two subscription windows.
“Alternative investments improve a portfolio’s diversification and reduce fluctuations in its value. In a period of low returns, funds like OP-Alternative Portfolio offer investors new sources of return in addition to conventional equity and fixed income investments,” adds Kalajainen.