International institutional investors remain the largest stakeholders in the ATX prime and significantly increased their holdings in 2013. US-based investors led the surge and regained the top position, followed by Austrian investors as well as institutions based in the UK and Continental Europe. Buying was driven mostly by international investors which have taken advantage of the positive market trend and increased allocations to ATX prime stocks, whereas Austrian funds marginally decreased their holdings in absolute figures. Within Europe, there was high demand from institutional investors based in France, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland in the second half of 2013. The growing demand for Austrian stocks is in line with the broader European trend as foreign investors allocated more funds to European issuers and also shifted from debt to equity in 2013. In terms of investment style, buying took place across the main styles, led by growth and value, with passive index investments as well as GARP reducing their holdings in the ATX prime in 2013, unlike their actions in wider Europe. The biggest shifts in the ATX prime ownership structure were driven by large, global investment firms such as The Capital Group, Fidelity, MFS, and Vanguard, with selling being limited to mostly special stories and issuer-specific performance reasons. With respect to small-cap issuers, sector-specific institutions and funds showed interest in special investment stories (e.g., RHI, Schoeller-Bleckmann, Semperit, and Wienerberger) to gain access to specific industry segments and global market leaders. Austrian investors as a whole – institutionals, non-financial institutions as well as retail customers – remain the largest investment group in the ATX prime, yet by international comparison, domestic institutional investors are still underinvested in the Austrian home market.
These are the key messages of the updated study (cut-off date: 31 December 2013) "Institutional Ownership of the ATX prime" conducted by the information provider Ipreo on behalf of the Vienna Stock Exchange. The survey is highly indicative, as it succeeded in identifying and allocating in detail more than 90% of Austrian free float.