Retail investors boost August flows as market recovery continues
UK savers ploughed £1.8bn into retail funds last month as the fund market started to show signs of a post-Covid recovery.
Volatility within bond markets has calmed somewhat as a result of central bank stimulus, which is in turn attracting investors.
Read more: Investors turn their back on UK equity funds due to Brexit jitters
Figures from the Investment Association (IA) show fixed income continued to be the best-selling asset class in August with net retail sales of £1.4bn. It was followed by mixed-asset with inflows of £541m.
Resurgent Brexit fears combined with the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis has seen investors flee from UK equity funds.
IA figures show that just 14 per cent of British retail investors’ assets were in these funds at the end of June, down from 23 per cent five years before.
However equity funds returned to positive flows with £340m net inflows for August.
Global equity funds enjoyed net retail sales of £534m, while UK funds sank with outflows of £748m in August alone.
Property funds experienced £3m in outflows while money market funds lagged with net retail outflows in August of £743m.
“The last month of summer saw a cementing of saver confidence with £1.8bn put into funds throughout August, in a further bolstering of the COVID-19 fund market recovery”, said IA chief executive Chris Cummings.
Responsible investment funds continued to grow, bringing in net retail sales of £897m, and now stands at £36bn in total funds under management (FUM). It represents 2.7 per cent of overall industry FUM.
Read more: Coronavirus: Is the pandemic the final nail in the coffin for property funds?
“Marrying financial returns with environmental, social and governance considerations continued to be popular with investors in August. Responsible investment funds attracted almost £900 million, proving their resilience amidst ongoing economic uncertainty”, Cummings said.
UK savers ploughed £1.8bn into retail funds last month as the fund market started to show signs of a post-Covid recovery.
Volatility within bond markets has calmed somewhat as a result of central bank stimulus, which is in turn attracting investors.
Read more: Investors turn their back on UK equity funds due to Brexit jitters
Figures from the Investment Association (IA) show fixed income continued to be the best-selling asset class in August with net retail sales of £1.4bn. It was followed by mixed-asset with inflows of £541m.
Resurgent Brexit fears combined with the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis has seen investors flee from UK equity funds.
IA figures show that just 14 per cent of British retail investors’ assets were in these funds at the end of June, down from 23 per cent five years before.
However equity funds returned to positive flows with £340m net inflows for August.
Global equity funds enjoyed net retail sales of £534m, while UK funds sank with outflows of £748m in August alone.
Property funds experienced £3m in outflows while money market funds lagged with net retail outflows in August of £743m.
“The last month of summer saw a cementing of saver confidence with £1.8 billion put into funds throughout August, in a further bolstering of the COVID-19 fund market recovery”, said IA chief executive Chris Cummings.
Responsible investment funds continued to grow, bringing in net retail sales of £897m, and now stands at £36bn in total funds under management (FUM). It represents 2.7 per cent of overall industry FUM.
Read more: Coronavirus: Is the pandemic the final nail in the coffin for property funds?
“Marrying financial returns with environmental, social and governance considerations continued to be popular with investors in August. Responsible investment funds attracted almost £900 million, proving their resilience amidst ongoing economic uncertainty.”
Despite net institutional outflows of £2.2bn, a strong retail performance helped the total FUM stand at £1.3 trillion, unchanged from a year earlier.