The international fund market can be defined as the market for investment funds that are distributed outside their markets of domicile. Only domestic funds that are not distributed cross-border are excluded from the international fund market.
Although vast and growing rapidly, the international market for investment funds is relatively underdeveloped in terms of infrastructure, standards and procedures for processing cross-border business.
The entire fund market consists of approximately 40,000 different funds, with a total asset value of 7,633 billion USD at the end of 1997. Fund markets everywhere have enjoyed significant growth, which is likely to continue in the future. One of the key drivers of this growth is the public’s mistrust in public pension schemes, which has resulted in more people creating their own retirement plans. Since investment funds are relatively low risk, they are ideal as long-term savings vehicles.