* Value rises 18 pct to $674.2 billion in 2009
* Attractive products lift inflows and value - association
* Monthly value up 5.6 pct on strong sales, yen's fall
* Dec net inflows rise to 442.8 bln yen from 92.7 bln yen (Adds details on monthly figures, byline)
By Chikafumi Hodo)
TOKYO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The value of Japanese trust funds aimed at retail investors rebounded 18 percent in 2009 as global share prices and economies recovered from the previous year's financial crisis, an industry group said on Friday.
Japanese individuals, who hold $15 trillion in savings -- with much of that parked in low-yielding accounts -- shifted some of their savings into overseas and emerging market funds to diversify their portfolios and get higher returns.
The value of retail investment trust funds, or toushin, totalled 61.3 trillion yen ($674.2 billion) in 2009, up 9.2 trillion yen or 17.7 percent from a year earlier, the Investment Trusts Association of Japan said.
Net fund inflows by retail investors in 2009 grew by more than four times to 3 trillion yen from 686 billion yen a year earlier. The market has seen net inflows for six consecutive years, the association said.
"An overall recovery in markets after the crisis helped lift the value. In addition, asset management companies launched many attractive products to match preferences of investors," Fumio Inui, the association's vice president, told a news conference.
The appetite for riskier assets returned especially after the launch of Nomura Asset Management's currency selection-type U.S. junk bond funds in January 2009, which drew solid demand as investors saw it as a bargain-hunting opportunity.
On a monthly basis, the overall value of toushin in December rose 5.6 percent from the previous month to 61.3 trillion yen due to sharp gains in share prices and a fall in the yen.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei share average rose nearly 13 percent and the yen dropped about 6 percent against the dollar, which helped lift the overall monthly value.
The toushin market saw a net inflow from retail investors, with asset management companies offering a total of more than 50 funds in December.
Overall net inflows rose by almost five times to 442.8 billion yen in December from 92.7 billion yen the previous month.
The value of stock investment trust funds, which make up 82 percent of the total, rose 6.3 percent or 3.0 trillion yen to 50.2 trillion yen in December.
Stock funds saw net inflows drop to 169.2 billion yen in December from 415 billion yen the previous month.
The value of bond funds rose 291.7 billion yen or 3.4 percent to 8.8 trillion yen.
Toushin holdings of foreign stocks, bonds and money market instruments rose 1.5 trillion to 28.6 trillion yen in December.
Foreign stock investments gained 521.9 billion yen to 6.1 trillion yen, making up 21.3 percent of total overseas asset holdings.
Foreign bond holdings rose 530.7 billion yen to 17.4 trillion yen, comprising 60.9 percent of total overseas holdings.
The association said the value of privately placed investment trust funds, which mainly attract funds from institutional investors, gained 3.6 percent or 1.03 billion yen to 29.7 trillion yen in December.
The value of exchange traded funds (ETFs) rose 7.3 percent or 155.2 billion yen to 2.3 trillion yen in December from 2.1 trillion the previous month, the association said. ($1=90.92 yen) (Editing by Michael Watson)