Analysis of Household Sector Investments in Non-Money Market Investment Funds in the Republic of Croatia

Sektor kućanstva smatra se glavnim izvorom novčanih viškova gospodarstva, a investicijski fondovi kao institucionalni investitori važan su čimbenik razvoja tržišta kapitala. Važno je stoga razumjeti karakteristike ulaganja sektora kućanstva u investicijske fondove te pratiti visinu spomenutih ulaganja. Fokus analize je na ulaganjima u nenovčane investicijske fondove jer za razliku od novčanih fondova ne predstavljaju bliske supstitute štednji u bankama, već predstavljaju oblik financijskih ulaganja. Analizom sekundarnih podataka dolazi se do zaključaka da Republika Hrvatska bilježi rastući trend ulaganja sektora kućanstva u nenovčane investicijske fondove s izuzetkom blagog pada 2013. godine te značajnog smanjenja ulaganja u prvom kvartalu 2020. godine zbog negativnog utjecaja koronavirusa na gospodarska kretanja. Unatoč rastućem trendu ulaganja, Republika Hrvatska prema promatranom kriteriju zauzima tek 23. mjesto u ukupnom poretku 27 zemalja Europske unije. Sektor kućanstva u Republici Hrvatskoj sklon je konzervativnom pristupu ulaganjima te prevladavaju ulaganja u obvezničke fondove.Household sector is considered as main source of cash surpluses in the economy and investment funds as institutional investors are important factor of capital market development. Therefore, it is important to understand characteristics of household sector investments in investment funds and track values of mentioned investments. Focus of the analysis is on investments in non-money market investment funds because unlike money market investment funds, they are not close substitutes for savings in banks, but a form of financial investments. Analysis of secondary data shows that Republic of Croatia has an upward trend in household sector investments in non-money market investment funds with the exception of a slight decrease in 2013 and a significant fall in investments in the first quarter of 2020 because of the negative impact of Coronavirus Crisis on the economic developments. Despite growing trend of investments, the Republic of Croatia ranks 23rd in the overall ranking of 27 EU countries considering observed criteria. Household sector in the Republic of Croatia tends to have a conservative approach to investment and thereby investments in bond fonds make a dominant type of investments