Europe's fund club, traditionally dominated by European banks and local fund distributers, is beginning to admit new members, reports The Wall Street Journal Europe.

Last year, proprietory products accounted for 77% of funds sold in Europe, which is a drop from 83% in 1998, according to a recent study by Sector Analysis, a fund-research company in London. In the US by contrast, proprietory products made up 33% of fund sales in 1999. Sector Analysis predicts in its reports that fund distribution in banks will decline by 17% in the next five years. It estimates that by 2005, about 55% of funds will be distributed through branches. Investors will increasingly turn to the internet and fund supermarkets to buy their products, according to Anthony Yadgaroff, group managing director at Allenbridge Group, an investment consultant in London.