Fund net retail sales were almost £2 billion in July, according to the latest figures from trade body the Investment Management Association (IMA).
UK equity income funds were the big winners, picking up £1 billion of net investment, while tracker funds hit a new peak with net sales of £532 million.
Other top sellers were:
- Property with net retail sales of £304 million
- Strategic bonds with net retail sales of £274 million
- Mixed investment 20-60% Shares with net retail sales of £238 million
- Asia Pacific excluding Japan with net retail sales of £198 million
The poorest performer was UK All Companies for the second month in a row, with a net retail outflow of £230 million.
Where investor cash is going
Jonathan Lipkin, IMA Director of Public Policy, said: “Net retail sales continued to do well, with equity funds ahead of the rest.
“Equity funds have headed the list of top performers for 16 months in a row now.”
Funds under management have surged to £806 billion in July 2014 from £745 billion a year ago.
A table of net retail sales from the IMA for the year tells the story of where savvy investors are targeting their cash:
| Region | Net retail sales in July 2014 | Average net retail sales for previous 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| UK | £678 million | £498 million |
| Asia | £203 million | -£33 million |
| Global | £163 million | £306 million |
| Japan | £80 million | £75 million |
| North America | -£30 million | £1 million |
| Europe | -£48 million | £203 million |
According to the IMA, British fund platforms channelled the most retail sales in July, hitting £8.1 billion to grab a 59% share of the market – up from 50% 12 months earlier.
Wealth managers, stockbrokers and other financial advisers chalked up sales of £4.5 billion to take a third of the market – down from 42% compared with July 2013.
Direct sales took a 7.4% market share with sales of £1 billion, a fall from 8.5% a year earlier.
Funds under management up £19 billion
Cofunds, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, Skandia and Transact, the five platforms providing investment data to the IMA reported net sales of £945 million.
Splitting the investments, £495 million went to ISAs, £275 million into pensions, £172 million into unwrapped investments and £4 million into insurance bonds.
Funds under management for the five firms jumped £19 billion, from £153 billion to £172 billion.
Despite investors expressing a preference for ethical funds, sales were only £49 million in July and funds under management are low in comparison with other investments at £9.4 billion. The market share is just 1.2%.
Net retail sales are the balance after deducting funds withdrawn from total investment.
