The latest Investment Association figures show where investors allocated money in September:
• Tracker funds lead with £1bn of net sales
• UK Equity outflows continue and have hit £10.5bn since Brexit
• Global and American funds the biggest winners
Laura Suter, personal finance analyst at investment platform AJ Bell, comments:
“Assets remained flat in September, with the net sales of £642m being largely wiped out by market falls. Tracker funds saw the biggest inflows, with a whopping £1.1bn being invested in them in the month. These tracker inflows are on par with a year ago, despite overall net sales having fallen almost 90%.
“The lack of a deal on Brexit means that investors are still slashing their UK exposure, with another £329m being pulled from UK equity funds in the month. This takes the total net outflows since the referendum vote to £10.5m, with some UK fund managers seeing the size of their funds shrink dramatically during this time.
“Investors are instead focusing on global equity markets and gaining a slice of the growing US economy, with global funds seeing the largest inflows at £236m and North American focused funds attracting £204m of new money. Japanese funds also benefitted, with £129m of new inflows, while most other countries saw outflows.
“Investors nervous of further market falls have been shifting into volatility managed strategies, which aim to give savers a smoother ride. The sector has seen consistent inflows since it was launched in April last year, with almost £2bn of inflows in the past year alone.”
