• Property funds see largest inflow since Brexit vote
• Investors flee equities, with North America hit hardest
• Net sales for July more than £3bn lower than a year ago
The latest Investment Association figures show where investors have been allocating money.
Laura Suter, personal finance analyst at investment platform AJ Bell, comments:
“July saw the biggest inflows to property funds since the Brexit vote, which had marked a scramble by investors to redeem money held in the funds. A total of £164m of net flows went into property funds in July, and while assets remain far from their pre-referendum high, it shows investors are dipping their toe back in the water.
“Equity funds continued to see net outflows in July and while total net retail sales were up on the previous month – hitting almost £1bn – they remain far below July last year, when we saw more than £4bn of net retail sales.
“The biggest outflows from a single sector of the month came from North American equities, as investors got jittery about the ongoing risk of trade wars escalating, with almost £300m of net outflows. This marks a stark turnaround for a sector that has seen pretty consistent inflows so far this year, with £1.2bn of investor money pouring in for the first six months of 2018.
“However, UK investors are not any more cheerful about the prospects of growth on home soil, with £316m of net outflows from UK-focused equity funds. This takes the total outflows over the past year to £4.6bn, and since the Brexit referendum investors have pulled £9.8bn from UK equity funds.”
