A global decline in mutual funds assets hasn’t been noted in Australia, where they increased by 5.9% to $US377 billion. IFSA CEO Richard Gilbert says this is mainly due to the Australian dollar appreciating by 7.1% against the US dollar during the March 2003 quarter.

The Australian mutual funds market is currently the fifth largest in the world. IFSA has more than 100 members who invest about $US365 billion on behalf of more than 9 million Australians.