Statistics from the UK Investment Management Association (IMA) reveal that August was the highest selling month on record for sales of global equity funds.
Global was the best selling IMA sector, with net retail sales of 337 million in August, the highest selling month on record, though only slightly ahead of Junes 332 million. Year to date net retail sales of the IMA Global Sector totaled 1.8 billion.
August saw net retail sales of 1.1 billion, an increase on Julys 938 million but below the monthly average of 2.2 billion for the previous twelve months. Year to date net retail sales totaled 15.1 billion compared with 18.6 billion in the same period last year.
August saw 177 million in net ISA sales, above the monthly average of 156 million for the previous twelve months, excluding the ISA season of March and April. Year to date net ISA sales totaled 3 billion, compared with 2010s 3.6 billion for the same period.
Funds under management in August totaled 561.5 billion, down 5.8% on July.
Funds under management for ISAs totaled 100.6 billion in August 2011, down 6.5% on July.
Jane Lowe, director of Markets at the Investment Management Association (IMA), commented: Despite volatile markets in August, net retail sales of funds remained steady, with investors adding 1.1 billion to their portfolios. Interestingly, investor appetite for equities was strong in August, with net retail sales of 515 million.
Equity investment occurred in several sectors. Sales of global equity funds were the highest on record in August. However, the UK Equity Income and UK All Companies sectors were also popular, with UK Equity Income reporting its highest sales since May 2007.
(JDC)