UK fund management industry achieves 12th consecutive month of positive net retail retail sales
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Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association, said: "The UK asset management industry continues to thrive in 2017 as July marked 12 consecutive months of positive retail inflows."
The Investment Association's monthly statistics of UK investor behaviour in June 2017 show:
- Net retail sales in July were £3.5 billion, making this the highest July net retail inflow on record
- Retail clients have invested £23.1 billion in UK authorised funds since the start of 2017
- July 2017 saw positive retail inflows across all asset classes except Money Markets
Alastair Wainwright, Fund Market Specialist, said: " Net retail sales in July were £3.5 billion, making this the highest July net retail inflow on record. So far this year, retail clients have invested £23.1 billion in UK authorised funds, already surpassing annual net retail sales in both 2015 (£16.9 billion) and 2016 (£6.8 billion).
There were positive retail inflows across all asset classes except Money Markets, which saw its first monthly outflow since January 2016. Fixed Income funds proved to be most popular with a net retail inflow of £1 billion. £ Corporate Bond was the second best-selling sector with £432 million of net retail sales.
Mixed Asset funds attracted £958 million of net retail money in July with flows being more or less equally positive across all Mixed Asset Sectors. There have only been three monthly outflows from the asset class in the last five years. Mixed Asset products were also most popular within the passive space with £212 million of net retail investments.
Equity funds posted another positive monthly retail inflow of £924 million. The Global equity sector was once again the most popular sector with £607 million in new retail investments. UK equity funds experienced outflows of £290 million, as UK investors' preference to invest overseas continued."
ASSET CLASSES
Fixed Income was the best-selling asset class in July 2017, with net retail sales of £1 billion.
Mixed Asset was the second best-selling with net retail sales of £958 million.
Equity was the third best-selling asset class with net retail sales of £924 million.
Property funds saw inflows of £32 million, while Money Market funds saw outflows of £124 million.
NET RETAIL SALES OF EQUITY FUNDS BY REGION
Global equity funds were the best-selling in July with net retail sales of £737 million.
European equity funds were the second best-selling with net retail sales of £350 million.
Japanese equity funds were the third best-selling with net retail sales of £92 million.
Asian funds experienced a net retail sales of £44 million.
The five best-selling Investment Association sectors for June 2017 were:
- Global was the best-selling sector with net retail sales of £607 million.
- £ Corporate Bond with net retail sales of £432 million.
- Europe Excluding UK with net retail sales of £285 million.
- Targeted Absolute Return with net retail sales of £275 million.
- Volatility Managed with net retail sales of £200 million.
The worst-selling Investment Association sector in July 2017 was the UK All Companies sector with an outflow of £214 million.
RETAIL DISTRIBUTION
In July, gross retail sales for UK fund platforms totalled £8.4 billion, representing a market share of 47.5% (46.7% in July 2016).
Other Intermediaries including UK IFAs and Wealth Managers attracted gross retail sales of £3.8 billion, representing a market share of 21.4% (24.8% in July 2016).
Direct gross retail sales in July were £1.3 billion, representing a market share of 7.6% (7.4% in July 2016).
FUND PLATFORM PRODUCT SALES
For the five fund platforms that provide data to The Investment Association (Cofunds, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, Old Mutual Wealth and Transact) we saw net retail sales of £1.3 billion in July.
Personal Pensions had net sales of £730 million, ISAs £333 million, and Unwrapped £167 million, and Insurance Bonds £41 million.
For the same five fund platforms, funds under management as at the end of July 2017 were £247 billion, compared with £213 billion a year earlier.
ISAs
In July 2017, funds in ISAs provided by fund companies and the five fund platforms that feed data to The Investment Association (Cofunds, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, Old Mutual Wealth and Transact) saw net retail inflows of £147 million.
The three best-selling sectors for ISAs based on the five fund platforms were:
- Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares (£107 million net sales)
- Global (£41 million net sales)
- Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares (£40 million net sales)
FUND OF FUNDS
Funds of funds had a net retail inflow of £817 million in July 2017.
Funds of funds that invested externally saw net retail sales of £337 million, while funds that invested internally saw net retail sales of £480 million.
Funds under management for funds of funds were £143 billion at the end of July 2017, accounting for 12.6% of industry funds under management, compared with 11.9% in July 2016.
TRACKER FUNDS
Tracker funds saw a net retail inflow of £555 million. Tracker funds under management stood at £155 billion as at the end of July 2017. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 13.7%, compared with 12.7% in July 2016.
ETHICAL FUNDS
Net retail sales of ethical funds were £129 million in July 2017. Funds under management were £14 billion at the end of July, representing a 1.2% share of industry funds under management.
