Revealed: The most popular new funds of 2011

Fund management groups struggled to raise assets for new products last year, with just eight funds launched in 2011 taking in more than £100m, according to FE data.

Tough market conditions played a significant role in reducing inflows and also resulted in fund launches falling to a decade low.

However, despite the macroeconomic environment, a handful of last year's new funds managed to build up a sizeable asset base.

Leading the way was the BlackRock CIF Overseas Government Bond Tracker fund, launched at the end of January, which pulled in assets of £223m.

BlackRock is also in second place with its CIF Overseas Corporate Bond Tracker drawing in £174m.

The two new index trackers pulled in significant assets as investors sought to diversify their portfolios in a volatile trading environment.

The Alliance Trust Global Thematic Opportunities fund takes third place, although it only came to market at the back end of 2011.

The fund is managed by Illario Di Bon, who joined the group from Fidelity last June. A strong initial take-up saw the fund swell to £156m in the short period since launch.

Completing the top five were two absolute return funds, highlighting the sector's popularity, with eight new funds entering the space last year. 

The BNY Mellon Absolute Return Equity grew to £133m in size, while the Ignis Absolute Return Government Bond gained £104m.

 Five most popular new funds of 2011

 Data as at 30 December. Source: FE