According to IMA statistics for November, the Cautious Managed Sector (renamed the Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares Sector from 1 January) posted net retail sales of £176m in the month to top the sector table.
But the Absolute Return UK Sector’s rebound, from ranking 29th out of 34 sectors in October, to second place in November with £164m in sales, was arguably more impressive.
Performance figures for the Absolute Return Sector from Financial Express show a sector average return of 0.64% for the three months to 9 January.
Over six months the sector’s average performance is -2.19% and over one year -1.38%. But the sector has come good over three years, with an average return of 12.67%.
Taking a wider view, equity funds as a whole saw their largest outflows on record in the month and total net retail sales of funds dropped to their lowest level since October 2008, the IMA revealed.
Investors pulled £864m out of equity funds in November, as the asset class saw its fourth month in five of redemptions following over two years of net inflows.
Muted sales of £267m for the month were a fraction of the monthly average of £1.7bn for the previous 12 months. In the year to the end of November £16.7bn of funds were sold compared to £25.6bn a year earlier.
Richard Saunders, chief executive at the IMA, said: "The second half of 2011 has seen a marked slowdown in fund sales from the exceptionally strong levels of the past three years, and there was no let-up in November.
"Investors favoured bonds in November, while sales of absolute return funds bounced back from previous low levels. Equity funds experienced significant outflows, mainly from the UK, Europe and North America equity funds."
Bond funds were the highest selling asset class for the third month running, with net retail sales of £443m, well above the monthly average of £332m for the previous 12 months.
