Fund flows turn positive, as investor sentiment improves
UK savers put £1.1 billion into funds in November 2023, according to data published by the Investment Association (IA), as Equity, Fixed Income and Mixed Asset funds turned positive. However, this was primarily driven by Tracker fund sales.
Key findings for November 2023:
- Tracker funds saw inflows of £2.7 billion the highest inflow since April 2021.
- Equity funds experienced strong inflows of £991 million, an increase from October’s £488 outflows.
- Fixed Income and Mixed Asset funds were in inflows of £366 million and £414 million, respectively.
- Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares was the worst-selling sector, experiencing £575 million in outflows, while UK Gilts was the best-selling sector with a £548 million inflow.
- Responsible Investment funds remained in the red, with outflows of £459 million, down from last month’s £544 million outflow.
Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association, said:
“In November 2023, we saw savers return to put money into funds, as most asset classes bounced back after a challenging third quarter of the year. With inflation easing, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon that we may see less restrictive monetary policy and cuts in Central Bank rates in 2024. The latest flow data suggests this has boosted both consumer confidence and wider market sentiment.”
FUNDS UNDER MANAGEMENT AND NET SALES
|
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Funds Under Management |
Net Retail Sales |
Net Institutional Sales |
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November 2023 |
£1.39 trillion |
£1.1 billion |
-£5.4 billion |
|
November 2022 |
£1.39 trillion |
£457 million |
-£5.8 billion |
BEST SELLING INVESTMENT ASSOCIATION SECTORS
The five best-selling Investment Association sectors for November 2023 were:
- UK Gilts with net retail sales of £548 million.
- Infrastructure with net retail sales of £241 million.
- High Yield Bond followed with net retail sales of £190 million.
- Volatility Managed with net retail sales of £165 million.
- North America was fifth with net retail sales of £133 million.
The worst-selling Investment Association sector in November 2023 was Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares, which experienced outflows of £575 million.
NET RETAIL SALES BY ASSET CLASS
Equity funds saw inflows of £991 million.
Mixed Asset funds saw inflows of £414 million.
Fixed Income funds saw inflows of £366 million.
Property funds experienced £47 million in outflows.
Other funds saw £291 million in outflows.
Money Market saw outflows of £319 million.
NET RETAIL SALES OF EQUITY FUNDS BY REGION*
North America funds saw inflows of £115 million.
Japan funds experienced inflows of £47 million.
Asia funds saw net retail outflows of £37 million.
Europe funds saw outflows of £305 million.
Global funds saw net retail outflows of £314 million.
UK funds saw outflows of £819 million.
TRACKER FUNDS
Tracker funds saw net retail inflows of £2.7 billion in November 2023. Tracker funds under management stood at £309 billion at the end of November. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 22.2%.
RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT FUNDS
Responsible investment funds saw a net retail outflow of £459 million in November 2023. Responsible investment funds under management stood at £98 billion at the end of November. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 7.0%.
GROSS RETAIL SALES BY DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL
Gross retail sales for UK fund platforms totalled £13.3 billion, representing a market share of 45.5%.
Gross retail sales through other UK Intermediaries including IFAs totalled £10.2 billion, representing a market share of 34.7%.
Gross retail sales for Discretionary Manager totalled £1.4 billion, representing a market share of 4.9%.
Direct gross retail sales totalled £962 million, representing a market share of 3.3%.
In November, Execution only intermediaries totalled £87 million in gross retail sales and accounted for 0.3% of the market.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Helen Ayres, Head of Communications: [email protected].
T: +44 7596 872575
Arianna Schardt, Communications Executive: [email protected]
T: +44 (0)20 7269 4625
Ismail Abdi, Communications Trainee, [email protected]
+44 7596 872575
IA press office: [email protected]
Notes for Editors
To see a breakdown of the fund data referenced in this press release, please see all of the tables here.
The Investment Association's figures for fund sales cover retail and institutional sales in authorised unit trusts and open-ended investment companies (OEICs) provided by our membership to UK investors. The figures do not include investment trusts and ETFs.
Each month small revisions to figures have been made since the previous press release. This reflects additional information received by The Investment Association.
Net retail sales comprise total retail sales minus repurchases (including switches between funds), thus the figures can result in a negative figure or outflow.
* Regional breakdown for equity funds
The following Investment Association sectors have been grouped together to compile the figures for regional equity sales:
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Asia |
Europe |
Global |
Japan |
North America |
UK |
|
Asia Pacific excl. Japan |
Europe excl. UK |
Global |
Japan |
North America |
UK All Companies |
|
Asia Pacific incl. Japan |
Europe incl. UK |
Global Emerging Markets |
Japanese Smaller Companies |
North America Smaller Companies |
UK Equity Income |
|
China/Greater China |
Europe Smaller Companies |
Global Equity Income |
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UK Smaller Companies |
|
India/Indian Subcontinent |
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Specialist |
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Healthcare |
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Technology and Technology innovation |
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Financials and Financial innovation |
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Direct Channels
Direct includes sales forces and tied agents, private clients and other direct to investor sales without intermediation.
** The Investment Association’s ISA figures are based on information collected from fund companies and five fund platforms (AEGON, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, Quilter, and Transact) where they are the ISA provider. Fund business through other ISA providers such as wealth managers is not included. The Investment Association’s figures cover about three-quarters of the whole of the market for funds held in ISAs.
About the Investment Association (IA):
The IA champions UK investment management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 250 members manage £8.8 trillion of assets and the investment management industry supports 126,400 jobs across the UK.
Our mission is to make investment better. Better for clients, so they achieve their financial goals. Better for companies, so they get the capital they need to grow. And better for the economy, so everyone prospers.
Our purpose is to ensure investment managers are in the best possible position to:
- Build people’s resilience to financial adversity
- Help people achieve their financial aspirations
- Enable people to maintain a decent standard of living as they grow older
- Contribute to economic growth through the efficient allocation of capital.
The money our members manage is in a wide variety of investment vehicles including authorised investment funds, pension funds and stocks and shares ISAs.
The UK is the second largest investment management centre in the world, after the US and manages 37% of all assets managed in Europe.
