Investment funds - statistics & facts

There is a wide variety of different fund types for investors, such as mutual funds, hedge funds, and exchange-traded funds. Investors less interested in these mainstream products can also trade in niche and non-traditional assets. Many of the investment funds are open funds, meaning that they can grow to any number of shares. Retirement assets account for a significant share of worldwide investing, total assets of pension funds worldwide exceeded 60 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021.

What are the different types of investment funds?

The number of mutual funds worldwide has more than doubled since 2007 and the value of assets managed is in the trillions. These funds are accessible to normal investors, while hedge funds, on the other hand, target high net worth individuals or institutional investors. Hedge funds take on a variety of strategies and these funds have a more aggressive stance and are therefore more volatile in returns. Finally, there were around 8,700 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in 2022. These funds offer passively managed portfolios, groups of assets that investors can put money in without the hands-on oversight that is common in mutual funds.

Investment fund industry in the United States

The United States has undeniably the largest investment fund industry in the world. Almost half of the worldwide assets under management of regulated open funds were in the United States, with Europe and the Asia-Pacific region following from a distance. The depth of the investment fund industry in the United States is built upon the widespread participation of U.S. households in investing activities. Mutual funds are particularly popular among U.S. adults, and, as of 2022, over 50 percent of the U.S. population held at least one of them.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Jun 15, 2023

Key insights

Assets managed by investment funds in the Americas
31.8bn USD
Total net assets of regulated open-end funds worldwide
60.1tr USD
Share of household financial assets held in investment funds in the United States
20.7%
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Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Market capitalization of largest exchange traded funds (ETFs) worldwide as of January 16, 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)

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Largest ETFs by market cap globally 2023

Development of assets of global exchange traded funds (ETFs) from 2003 to 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)

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Worldwide ETF assets under management 2003-2022

Value of assets managed by hedge funds worldwide from 1997 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)

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Assets under management of hedge funds worldwide 1997-2023

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