Funds post record half-year: returns of 9.2 per cent in Europe, with Italia trailing at 5.2 per cent

The wave of euphoria that continues to sweep through the stock markets following the sharp sell-off triggered by the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East could only serve to boost investors’ portfolios as well. Taken as a whole, despite its volatility – which was inevitably heightened by events shaping the global geopolitical landscape – the first half of 2026 actually closed with the best performance in seven years for funds marketed in Europe, including Italia.

The buoyant months from April to the end of June have made it possible to turn around the situation that had arisen during the first three difficult months of the year, as confirmed by the data contained in the report published by Tosetti Value, one of the leading multi-family offices in Europe, which reviews the returns and costs of all UCITS products distributed in at least one European country, classified as long-term funds, both active and passive (excluding ETFs), and managed by the top 250 firms ranked by assets under management. The half-yearly report reveals an average weighted return of 9.2% across investment firms on the continent, just a few tenths of a percentage point lower than the return achieved in the first half of 2019 – a year of recovery for the financial markets that investors still remember.

The fact that it has been the stock markets themselves that have been driving the rally in recent months means that two fund managers with almost entirely equity-based portfolios – the Swedish public pension fund Sjunde and Northern Trust – now top the rankings; not surprisingly, these two were at the bottom of the table at the end of March, alongside an active management specialist such as Robeco. However, at least a dozen investment firms have delivered double-digit returns to clients over the half-year, including giants such as BlackRock and Vanguard, demonstrating a widespread ability to capitalise on favourable market trends.

Italia, as is usually the case in such situations, is forced to play catch-up, mainly due to the different distribution of investments and the proportion allocated to equities which, although growing, remains almost half that of the rest of Europe (28.1 per cent compared with 54.7 per cent). Added to this is a higher proportion of recurring costs (1.48 per cent per annum compared with the continental average of 0.82 per cent), yet the overall picture remains impressive: the average half-yearly return of 5.2 per cent recorded by Tosetti Value is, once again, the best result since the aforementioned start of 2019.

The months following the end of the half-year have, in the meantime, been characterised by a degree of continuity, at least as far as the stock markets are concerned: the brief dip in July was more than offset by the rally over the last ten days, which saw many of the world’s leading indices reach new all-time highs last week. It therefore seems reasonable to assume that European funds have increased their gains in the meantime. Throwing a spanner in the works of this mechanism – which so far seems to be running with little hesitation – could be not only the unpredictable developments in international affairs but also factors such as the excessive concentration of share indices behind a handful of companies: so far, this has been a boon, particularly for passive fund managers, but the tide could turn.