Open-end equity funds become a relevant player on the Bucharest Stock Exchange

Alongside buying pressure through other channels, these inflows helped push the main index on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) up by 42% year to date, Profit.ro reported. The stock market also recorded exceptional gains in 2024 and 2025, with the benchmark BET index rising by 30% and 46%, respectively.

The substantial net inflows into equity investment funds have made them a relevant force in shaping developments on the Bucharest exchange, comparable in scale to the potential net inflows from private pension funds. The latter, however, were net sellers in January-August, as the share price rally increased equities’ weight in their portfolios to 27%.

The capital flowing into open-end investment funds has exceeded expectations. Mihai Căruntu, vice-president of the Association of Financial and Banking Analysts (AAFBR), said earlier this summer at the Profit.ro Capital Market Forum that funds registered with the AAF had reached a size that made them a genuine counterpart to pension funds, a development that would have been unimaginable in previous years.

Other investment channels, such as ETFs launched by various intermediaries, are also adding to buying pressure on the Bucharest exchange. For instance, launched this spring, the BT Asset Management ETF tracking the BET-TR index (BTBETRETF) had reached an asset value of EUR 90 million at the latest BVB closing price.