A reversal in sentiment for UK equities?

Reviewing a challenging H1 2019 for the asset class

Natalie Kenway
clock • 2 min read

It has been an eventful first half of 2019 for the asset management industry and in particular UK equity funds.

Continued uncertainty surrounding Brexit - and the leadership of the UK Government - meant investors shunned the asset class or continued to flee UK equity funds. Since the start of 2016 to the end of Q1 2019, some £13.2bn has been withdrawn from UK equity funds, according to data from the Investment Association. UK equity funds have seen consistent outflows for every quarterly period during that time, a strong indicator of the poor sentiment towards the asset class. Meanwhile, poor performance from fund manager Neil Woodford has meant investors have withdrawn £1.2bn from the Woodf...

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