GERMANY– The German retail fund market is expected to triple by 2006 from its present value of €418bn to €1.2trn, with foreign groups accounting for 15%, says the latest research by FERI Fund Market Information.

London-based FERI says the growth is the result of the increased cross border fund sales, which relate specifically to Luxembourg and Dublin registered funds that can be marketed across Europe.

Says Diana Mackay, joint managing director of FERI and author of the report: “Germany remains the single most important market for cross border sales, both from German firms selling outside Germany and foreign groups selling in Germany.

“Foreign groups have already sourced some €70bn from German investors into their funds and the market here is proving to be safety net for some fund management groups in light of the economic downturn”.

FERI believes that as domestic groups increasingly face competition from their overseas counterparts, their dependence on third-party distributors, such as banks, will increase. Moreover, banks are likely to take on more of an advisory role as well as just selling their own products.