The IMA’s latest figures show that September saw a decline in net retail sales to £568m, the lowest level since October 2008 and well below the monthly average of £2.1bn for the previous 12 months. Sales for Q3 were £2.6bn, well below recent quarters and the £7.5bn achieved in Q3 2010.
However, £ Corporate Bond took the top spot in terms of IMA sectors with funds having taken £216m in September, the highest level since the same month in 2010 and in contrast to the monthly average outflow of £37m for the previous 12 months.
Having seemly recovered from a recent lull in popularity – and performance – UK Equity Income funds achieved £197m during the month, a sizeable rise compared with the monthly average during the past year of £64m.
The Cautious and Balanced Managed sectors were third and fourth on the list, with combined sales of £311m while, perhaps surprisingly, UK Gilts was the fifth best-selling sector having taken in £111m in the month. Despite continued negative sentiment towards the sector, this figure represented its best month for sales since December 2008.
Outflows were concentrated in the equity sectors – Asia Pacific Excluding Japan lost £164m, followed by Europe Excluding UK (£92m), North America (£78m) and UK All Companies (£65m).
Richard Saunders, chief executive at the IMA, said: “September’s further slowdown in fund sales confirms the trend of the previous two months. As a result net retail sales in the third quarter were the lowest since 2008.
“Investors were cautious in their asset class choices in September, with bonds and balanced funds the best selling assets. There was a modest outflow from equities overall, although UK equity income funds continued to attract investors.”
