The Romanian investment fund market has exceeded the threshold of one million investors, a milestone marking the 30th anniversary of the reopening of the domestic capital market, according to the Romanian Association of Fund Administrators (AAF).
According to data centralized by the Association, in June of this year, the number of investors in funds was 1,007,481 people, which reflects the constant increase in trust in professionally managed savings and investment mechanisms, but also the maturation of the Romanian public in terms of financial education and investment solutions for increasing financial independence, the cited source shows.
"Exceeding the one million investor threshold is an extremely important moment for our industry, relatively yong ad viewed for a long time with quite little confidence. This symbolic milestone, in essence, shows us several extremely important elements for our industry and which make us confident that the next one million investor threshold will be reached much earlier than 30 years. The evolution of the industry in which thousands of professionals work also reflects the course of the Romanian economy over the last 30 years. We are happy to see a higher level of public confidence in the products of the asset management market, a more informed, more responsible and more oriented towards long-term planning public, the essential elements for the sustainable development of the capital market in Romania. "The legislative change adopted three years ago, which allowed for withholding tax and a more advantageous taxation of this type of investment, was the main driver for doubling the number of investors in open-end investment funds, popular among retail investors. If in July 2021, there were just over 500,000 fund investors in Romania, currently their number has exceeded 1 million people," said Horia Gusta, president of the Romanian Association of Fund Administrators (AAF), quoted in the press release.
The aggregated data by AAF for June 2025 show a solid market evolution, with the net assets of the 248 open-end and closed-end funds (local and foreign) reaching 51.8 billion lei (10.2 billion euros), after a monthly increase of 2.5% and a 7.1% year-to-date advance. Net inflows into funds in June amounted to 99 million lei (19.6 million euros).
By category, the 96 local open-end funds recorded an increase in net assets by 1.7%, reaching 29 billion lei (5.71 billion euros), with net inflows of 101.8 million lei, while foreign open-end funds distributed in Romania (116 funds) had an increase in net assets expressed in lei of 1.5% in June, up to 2.26 billion lei (0.45 billion euros), with net inflows of 6.9 million lei (1.37 million euros).
At the same time, the 36 alternative investment funds (AIF) recorded an increase in net assets by 3.8%, reaching 20.5 billion lei (4 billion euros), with net outflows of 9.8 million lei in June.
"Industry statistics indicate that for 33 months we have had a sustained increase in the number of investors. We are talking about a monthly average of 14,000 new people who choose to invest in funds and this sustained growth indicates not only a high market potential but also a level of confidence in growth. In the 11 consecutive quarters of growth, there are also moments when a higher level of new investor inflows was recorded. The months with the highest number of new investors were February 2024, October 2024 and June 2025," said Jan Pricop, executive director of the Romanian Association of Fund Administrators.
The top 5 funds over the past 12 months generated net annual returns between 11.3% and 22%. Over a 36-month horizon, the top performing funds had returns between 69.7% and 79.8%.
The Romanian Fund Administrators Association is the non-governmental professional organization of operators in the Collective Investment Undertakings industry in Romania, which brings together 23 investment management companies (SAI) and alternative investment fund managers (AFIA), Fondul Proprietatea and four depository banks. Since 2007, AAF has been a member of the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA).
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