Serbia’s investment-fund industry has grown to about €2.4 billion in assets, with roughly 90,000 investors now holding fund investments, but almost four-fifths of those assets remain in money-market funds. Fund assets have increased by about 70% over the past two years and are now almost ten times their level a decade ago, according to figures presented at a capital-markets conference in Belgrade on Sept. 9.
Intesa Invest, Serbia’s largest fund manager, has surpassed €1 billion in assets under management. The expansion indicates that more household and corporate savings are moving from traditional bank deposits into regulated investment products.
Money-Market Funds Dominate Portfolios
Almost 80% of investment-fund assets are held in money-market funds, which primarily invest in deposits and short-duration instruments. These funds provide an alternative to conventional savings accounts while maintaining relatively high liquidity and lower volatility. The concentration also means that only a limited share of professionally managed Serbian capital is reaching corporate equities, longer-term bonds, infrastructure and other productive investments.
The portfolio structure is becoming increasingly relevant as Serbia seeks to develop its domestic securities market. Several companies are preparing corporate bond issues before the end of 2026, while private-sector IPOs could enter the market in 2027, according to Belgrade Stock Exchange officials. Recent transactions include a €15.4 million green bond issued by engineering and energy contractor Kodar Energomontaža. The broader corporate bond pipeline has been estimated at more than €250 million.
Corporate Bonds Could Broaden Investment Options
The expanding fund industry provides a potential domestic investor base for new corporate debt issues, although the transition from money-market products to securities carrying greater price and liquidity risk is expected to depend on investor appetite. Corporate bonds would allow established companies to diversify financing away from banks without diluting existing equity ownership. For institutional investors, they could provide higher-yielding assets than deposits or government securities. Energy and infrastructure companies could be particularly relevant because their projects often require substantial capital and longer financing periods.
Green bonds could also provide investment opportunities connected with renewable energy, energy efficiency and other environmental projects. Serbia’s limited supply of liquid domestic securities has constrained the ability of fund managers to build diversified portfolios of corporate assets.
IPO Market Faces Greater Structural Challenges
Equity issuance presents a more difficult development path. Serbia has lacked a sustained IPO market for years, leaving domestic investors with limited recent experience evaluating newly listed companies. Successful listings would require sufficient free float, transparent financial reporting and adequate trading volumes to support secondary-market liquidity.
A possible listing of a state-owned company could provide greater market scale, although its impact would depend on the company selected and the amount of equity ultimately offered to investors. The limited supply of securities and conservative investor behaviour have reinforced each other: companies have had fewer incentives to issue because the investor base is narrow, while investors have remained cautious because relatively few liquid domestic securities are available.
€240 Million Could Shift With a 10% Reallocation
The existing fund assets show that Serbia already has a substantial pool of professionally managed domestic savings. If 10% of the current €2.4 billion fund pool were eventually redirected toward corporate bonds, equities or alternative investments, that would represent about €240 million of additional capital for securities markets. That amount would be comparable with the size of the corporate bond pipeline currently under discussion.
Banks would nevertheless remain the dominant source of corporate financing. Serbia has a liquid and profitable banking system, and companies can continue using bank credit where pricing and terms remain competitive. A deeper institutional investor base could provide larger companies with an additional financing channel, particularly for expansion programmes requiring substantial long-term capital. It could also allow more Serbian savings to finance domestic companies rather than remaining primarily within investment funds, bank deposits and sovereign debt. The development of that market will depend on the quality of the first wave of corporate issuers, as investors accustomed to cash-like products will require credible companies, transparent pricing and sufficient liquidity before committing more capital to less liquid securities.
