Private equity leads the way for Cyprus investment funds

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on Thursday announced that assets under management in the collective investments sector reached €11.4 billion in the third quarter of 2025, marking a quarterly increase of 7.5 per cent.

According to the quarterly statistics bulletin for the third quarter of 2025, CySEC supervised 312 management companies and undertakings of collective investments during this time, compared with 323 during the same period of the previous year.

The total of 312 entities comprised 217 externally managed UCIs, 29 internally managed UCIs and 66 external fund managers.

Within the overall number of management companies, there were 46 AIFMs, 44 sub-threshold AIFMs, two UCITS management companies and three dual licence entities operating as both AIFMs and UCITS management companies.

Based on the data for the third quarter of 2025, total assets under management amounted to €11.4 bn, reflecting a 7.5 per cent rise compared with the second quarter of 2025.

In addition, the UCIs managed by these management companies recorded a net asset value of €10.1 bn.

Of the total assets under management, 63 per cent related to assets managed by AIFMs, 17 per cent by AIFMs and UCITS management companies, 10 per cent by UCITS management companies, 9 per cent by sub-threshold AIFMs and 1 per cent by regulated UCIs managed by foreign fund managers.

In the case of UCITS, 85.8 per cent of assets under management were invested in transferable securities, 10.9 per cent in UCITS and other UCIs, and 3.2 per cent in bank deposits.

Regarding AIFs, AIFLNPs and RAIFs, 30.7 per cent of assets under management related to investments in private equity, 17 per cent were invested in real estate and 14.5 per cent in hedge funds.

Investments in funds of funds accounted for 9.7 per cent of total AUM, while the remaining 28.1 per cent were classified under other.

Within private equity investments, 38.9 per cent concerned multi-strategy capital, 34.1 per cent related to growth capital, 16.9 per cent to venture capital and 0.5 per cent to mezzanine financing.

As for the category described as other, 36.1 per cent was invested in equity capital, 15.3 per cent in fixed income and 8.2 per cent in cash and cash equivalents, while infrastructure and commodities accounted for 2.1 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.

The commission also reported that a total of 69.7 per cent of overall AUM was held by 205 UCIs domiciled in Cyprus, including 11 UCITS, 51 AIFs, 40 AIFLNPs and 103 RAIFs.

Out of 230 UCIs with operations, 165 invested in Cyprus either partially or entirely, with these investments exceeding €2.8 bn and representing 24.8 per cent of total assets under management.

Of the investments made in Cyprus, 71.1 per cent were directed towards private equity and 12.8 per cent towards real estate.

From the categorisation of UCITS investors, the vast majority were retail investors at 99.2 per cent, with a total of 8,727 investors.

In AIFs, AIFLNPs and RAIFs, out of 3,674 investors, 64.7 per cent were well-informed, 26 per cent were professional and 9.4 per cent were retail investors.

In terms of sectoral exposure during the third quarter of 2025, €471.6 million was invested in the energy sector, representing 4.13 per cent of total AUM.

Moreover, an amount of €106.9m was invested in fintech, corresponding to 0.94 per cent of total AUM.

In addition, shipping attracted €581.8m, accounting for 5.09 per cent of total AUM, while sustainable investments amounted to €97.9m, representing 0.86 per cent of total AUM.

The latest figures underline the continued growth of Cyprus’ collective investments sector, alongside a shift in allocation patterns across asset classes and economic sectors.