Active funds dominated flows in April, with £576m added in May, as equity markets barely blinked despite ongoing geopolitical conflict, according to recent data from Finscape.
In terms of net sales for the month, Orbis, HSBC and BNY Mellon topped the chart for active funds, delivering net sales of £115m to £105m. The three shared a common thread of income and defensiveness, according to the report, with multi-asset, equity income and infrastructure income portfolios all performing relatively well.
Scottish Widows came next on the list, with a £64m net sales stat for the month.
Bella Caridade-Ferreira, head of insight at FE fundinfo and Finscape lead, said: “Equities have shrugged off the war so far, but the gap between buoyant stockmarkets and jittery bond markets is one to watch.
“For now, investors are ignoring the noise and backing active managers to earn their keep.”
Meanwhile, passives struggled by comparison, with £91m pulled from tracker funds in May. Combined with the £567m added to active funds, this means the total amount added to funds in May came in at $485m.
That said, despite a good month for active equity funds, when looking at the stats for all net sales, BlackRock and Amundi topped the chart, with net sales of £175m and £162m respectively in May.
“The names at the top of the net table were the usual index giants,” the report noted. “A reminder that the trackers keep gathering assets whatever the weather.”
See also: Finscape: UK investors pour £2.3bn into funds in April despite geopolitical volatility
