IA Global enjoys record £934m sales in April
Reduced UK outflows
Global funds across equities and fixed income dominated net retail sales in April as ISA season powered overall fund sales to £2.2bn, according to the Investment Association (IA).
Calling April "business as usual", the IA said net retail sales passed £2bn for the first time since the previous April, when they were £2.8bn - a welcome buck of the trend seen over a six-month period of outflows.
IA Global was the strongest sectoral performer, with £934m of net retail sales - its largest inflow on record, following 12 months of positive net sales.
Closely following the Global category was £ Strategic Bond, which took net retail sales of £859m, and Global Bonds, which enjoyed £503m of net retail sales in the month.
Fourth-best seller was Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares, with net retail sales of £306m, which beat Volatility Managed with its £237m.
The worst-selling sector in April was Targeted Absolute Return with an outflow of £501m.
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Global and Asia-focused funds were the only two regions with positive sales, at £971m and £92m, respectively.
Fixed income was the overall winner at asset class level, taking £1.6bn of net retail sales, while mixed asset was in second place with £404m. Equities lagged with £114m, only beating property, which took in £44m.
While flows out of UK equity funds appeared to slow, with net retail outflows of £3m - the smallest since March 2017 - commentators have pointed out that trend may reverse next month when May's figures are published, given the furore around Woodford Investment Management's UK equities franchise.
Jason Hollands, managing director of business development and communication at Tilney (pictured) said the May data would "undoubtedly be of interest as the effect of sizeable outflows from Woodford are factored in."
He added that the biggest equity outflows were from European funds, which lost £410m over the month, in line with 12 months of consecutive outflows, totalling £3.8bn from UK retail investors.
"The eurozone has faced many headwinds over this period, including a manufacturing recession in Germany, political turmoil in France, an escalating crisis between Italy and the EU institutions, a mounting trade dispute with the US and - of course - Brexit."
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