* Net sales into emerging funds rose to 15 bln eur
* JP Morgan, Barclays, SocGen lead fund sales
* Greater China funds attracted 4.9 bln euros of inflows

Net sales of emerging market funds rose to 15 billion euros ($21.54 billion) in the first half of 2009 as investors returned in droves after pulling out last year, research firm Lipper FMI said.

In a report published on Friday, Lipper FMI said assets under management in emerging equity funds in Europe halved in 2008 but have recovered this year by 50 percent.

Broad-based emerging equity funds garnered 6.4 billion euros in the first half of the year, followed by Greater China funds, which pulled in almost 4.9 billion.

The strong performance of the Chinese stock market following the government's stimulus package earlier this year has contributed to investor enthusiasm, Lipper said.

JP Morgan (JPM.N), Barclays (BARC.L) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) led the field in terms of sales.

Lipper said that while actively managed funds were the top sellers, Barclays and Societe Generale benefited from flows into their exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with iShares MSCI Emerging Markets and Lyxor ETF China Enterprise featuring among the top 25 selling funds.

The report also cited strong growth potential as the majority of investors in the developed world currently allocate only around 5 percent of their portfolio to these markets.

With the banking sectors in Asia and Latin America in a much sounder state and (with) less consumer debt, these markets are set to recover from the recession ahead of the developed world, Lipper said. (Reporting by Raji Menon; editing by John Stonestreet)

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