European long-term fund sales (excluding money market funds) totalled €54.4 billion (around $70.8 billion) in January 2013. This was the highest single-month total for seven years (the last was €56.1 billion in January 2006) according to Lipper, the research firm.

Withdrawals from money market funds totalled €4.5 billion in January; when these outflows are included, the European industry’s sales stood at €49.9 billion for the month.

Bond fund sales remained steady at €23.7 billion; the average over the past seven months is €23.2 billion. In contrast, equity fund sales improved significantly, reaching €20.8 billion, up from €13.3 billion in December 2012. This was the first time that equity fund sales have exceeded the €20 billion mark since December 2010. Within equities, emerging market and global equity index funds were the top sellers.

“This dual stream of inflows for European asset managers points to a broader improvement in investor sentiment,” Ed Moisson, head of UK and cross-border research at Lipper, said in a statement.