Helen Pridham, editor of the Pridham Report, said: “It is noticeable that three of the top four groups for net retail sales in the quarter were the fund management arms of insurance companies with their own platforms.”
Standard Life Investments took second position in both the gross and net sales table. Standard Life Global Absolute Return Strategies remains the group’s top seller but flows into its equity funds, including UK Equity Income Unconstrained, also rose during the quarter.
Blackrock retains the top spot for highest gross retail sales with its business underpinned by sales of its passive funds, the report says.
Woodford Investment Management’s single open-ended fund broke through £7bn and now tops the equity income sector in size terms. The popularity of Neil Woodford and the income objective of his fund was a winning combination, the report says.
The report said net sales in the quarter were the best for the year so far due to strong retail sales of investment funds in July. The largest increases in net retail flows in the quarter were seen at Legal & General Investment Management (which boosted its net business by over 100% in the quarter), and Artemis.
Flows into funds via personal pensions were particularly strong as investors moved from traditional pensions into Sipps for the purposes of income drawdown. “Although many investors will remain cautious following this summer’s market volatility, pension investors are likely to be more focused on the long term,” Pridham said.
