Investment funds market to amount to €2 billion in five years

"Within five years, the investment fund market could be worth €1-2 bln, representing 1-2 percent of GDP," according to the President of Raiffeisen Asset Management, Mihail Ion.

Sums placed in investment funds in Western Europe make up 50-100 percent of their GDP, while in Central and Eastern Europe this amounts to 8-11 percent. Currently, funds placed in investment funds in account for a mere 0.2 percent of GDP, according to Raiffeisen Asset Management.

"More than 65 percent of the funds market is controlled by banking groups, and things will be the same in the future, because investors are more likely to trust companies part of the group," Ion said.

By the end of September, assets of mutual funds amounted to €258 million, 38 percent higher compared to December 2006.

Some 0.4 percent of 's population has invested in mutual funds. The level of investment per capita amounts to €15, compared to €23,000 in , €1,350 in , €935 in the Czech Republic, and €676 in .