Despite ongoing economic uncertainty in Brazil and abroad, Brazil’s fund industry delivered a strong performance in the first quarter of 2026. Net inflows totaled R$159.2 billion between January and March, a sharp increase from R$8.3 billion in the same period last year and the best result for a first quarter in the past five years. Total net assets reached R$10.8 trillion.

Growth was largely driven by fixed-income funds, which had net inflows of R$130.3 billion in the quarter, more than double the R$58.3 billion seen a year earlier. The main contribution came from short-duration, free credit funds, which accounted for R$61.8 billion of the total.

These funds are allowed to allocate more than 20% of their portfolios to medium- and high-risk credit instruments, both in domestic and international markets.

“This result highlights the fund industry’s resilience and ability to adapt, even in an environment marked by economic risks and geopolitical tensions,” said Pedro Rudge, a director at Anbima. “With interest rates still at elevated levels, fixed income remains on investors’ radar, whether through traditional funds or exchange-traded funds that track this asset class.”

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted the second-highest net inflows among all fund types. Net purchases totaled R$17.8 billion in the first quarter, the strongest result for the period in five years.

Of this total, R$15.5 billion flowed into fixed-income ETFs, reflecting investors’ preference for strategies aligned with a high-interest-rate environment.

Multimarket funds return to positive territory

Multimarket funds, which invest across different asset classes, also ended the quarter in positive territory, with net inflows of R$11.2 billion. This marks the first positive first-quarter result for the class since 2022.

Although the performance was largely driven by a single fund, which accounted for around R$11 billion of the total, it represents a significant turnaround from the first quarter of 2025, when multimarket funds posted net outflows of R$30.1 billion.

Equity funds still see outflows

Equity funds continued to report net outflows, though at a significantly lower pace. Redemptions totaled R$6.4 billion in the first quarter, well below the R$34.2 billion in the same period last year.

The result was mainly driven by broadly mandated equity funds, which do not follow a specific investment strategy and accounted for R$5.5 billion in outflows.

Direct-lending funds (FIDCs), pension funds and foreign-exchange funds also posted net redemptions, with outflows of R$2.3 billion, R$309 million and R$80 million, respectively.

By contrast, private equity funds (FIPs) saw net inflows of R$6.4 billion, while agribusiness-focused funds (Investment Funds in Agroindustrial Productive Chains - Fiagros) attracted R$2.4 billion during the period.

Performance highlights

In fixed income, short-duration, free credit funds delivered the best performance in the quarter, with returns of 3.4%, in line with the CDI (Interbank Deposit Certificate) benchmark rate and above the class average of 2.6%.

Among multimarket funds, directional long and short strategies posted the best results. These funds, which take both long and short positions in equities and related derivatives, returned 3.36% in the first three months of the year. This compares with a 0.05% decline in the IHFA (Anbima Hedge Fund Index) and an average return of 1.7% for the class.

In equities, mono ações (single-stock funds) stood out. These funds, which concentrate investments in shares of a single company, posted returns of 29% in the quarter, outperforming the Ibovespa benchmark stock index, which rose 16.3%, and the class average of 10.7%.