Funds prioritising capital accumulation garnered the most attention from advisers in the first quarter of 2023 according to Square Mile’s Market Intelligence Report, with interest in income-generating strategies also remaining high.
Square Mile’s quarterly report records viewing patterns among the advisers that use its Academy of Funds site, which covers the 352 active, passive, and risk-targeted funds that are rated by Square Mile.
On the site, capital accumulation strategies accounted for some 45% of page views, up from 40% last quarter. This was followed by income strategies, which remained broadly in line with the previous quarter with a 35% share.
In all there were 2,382 unique website visitors and 44,216 page views in Q1 2023.
With nearly 7.5% of all adviser views, Jupiter Unit Trust Managers received the most attention of any fund group over the quarter, knocking First Sentier, the most popular group in Q4 2022, down to fourth place.
Giants Baillie Gifford and Schroders remained in second and third place respectively.
Aegon Income fund stays top
The multi-asset Aegon Diversified Monthly Income fund remained the most searched-for strategy on the Academy of Funds, followed by the Havelock Global Select fund, a global equity strategy that targets capital accumulation.
The rest of the top five was made up of UK-focused funds: Jupiter UK Special Situations, ES R&M UK Recovery, and M&G UK Inflation Linked Corporate Bond.
After a punishing period for UK equities, Jock Glover (pictured), the strategic relationships director at Square Mile, said it was interesting to note that two of the most popular strategies in the Academy of Funds invest in this asset class.
He added: “Indeed, many UK equity managers consider the market to be offering particularly good relative value while offering access to both businesses with a global footprint as well as compelling opportunities further down the market cap scale.
“It is possible that advisers are increasingly warming to this view.”
The IA UK All Companies sector maintained its place as the most viewed sector with an 11% share, though this was down from 14% in Q4 2022.
The recent revival in fixed income saw the IA Sterling Strategic Bond sector regain its place as the second most viewed, up from fifth in the previous quarter, with an increase of 3.6 percentage points to 10.8%.
Overall, equities were the most researched asset class over the first quarter, accounting for half of the visits to the Academy of Funds, still double that of fixed income, the next most popular.
In the responsible investing category, Wellington Global Impact Bond fund was the most researched in the for the third quarter running, followed by the FSSA Asia Focus, and the CT UK Social Bond funds.
