Press Release

INVESTMENT FUND STATISTICS - March 2008

28 April 2008

Summary	UK DOMICILED	OVERSEAS DOMICILED
Funds under management	£432.7 billion  March 2007 £449 billion	£15.7 billion March 2007 £14.5 billion
Net retail sales	£414 million  March 2007 £1.2 billion	-£130.6 million  March 2007 £27.1 million
Net ISA sales	£276.4 million  March 2007 £533.8 million	£1 million March 2007 £4.5 million

  

 

 

 

• 2007/08 tax year UK domiciled net ISA sales £1.3 billion (2006/07 tax year £2.5 billion)
• UK domiciled net ISA sales 1-5 April 2008 £256 million (1-5 April 2007 £423 million)
• UK domiciled net ISA sales 1 March-5 April 2008 £532 million (1 March - 5 April 2007 £957 million)

UK Domiciled funds

Funds under management 
Funds under management of UK domiciled investment funds were £432.7 billion in March, a fall of 2% from February and 4% lower than March 2007. UK domiciled ISA funds under management of £50.5 billion were slightly lower than the previous month and 4% lower than the previous year.

Graph showing UK domiciled funds under management since March 2007

ISA sales 
Net sales of UK domiciled investment fund ISAs were £276.4 million in March, an increase from the previous month's inflow of £32 million, but down from the £533.8 million inflow seen in March 2007.

The most popular UK domiciled sector in March, was UK All Companies, accounting for 24% of gross ISA sales.  In net terms the most popular ISA sector was Cautious Managed. The most popular distribution channel for UK domiciled ISA funds in March was through fund supermarkets, representing 42% of UK gross retail business.

The 2007/08 tax year saw net ISA sales of £1.3 billion, compared to £2.5 billion seen in the 2006/07 tax year. The 2006/07 ISA season (1 March - 5 April) saw net inflows of £532 million, less than the previous tax year which saw net inflows of £957 million.

The most popular ISA sector for UK domiciled funds in the 2007/08 tax year was UK All Companies accounting for 25% of gross inflows. The most popular distribution channel for UK domiciled funds in the 2007/2008 tax year was fund supermarkets, representing 43% of gross ISA sales, followed by sales force/tied agents.

UK domiciled net sales by asset class 
Of the £414 million net retail sales in March, £315 million was invested in bond funds, followed by £65 million in balanced funds. Institutional holdings of unit trusts and OEICs saw outflows of £27 million.

Graph showing net retail sales of UK domiciled funds over the last 13 months

Gross retail sales by sector and distribution channel 
The most popular sector in March was UK All Companies, representing 16% of gross retail sales of UK domiciled funds. 76% of gross retail sales into the UK All Companies sector were via intermediaries. 

The most popular retail distribution channel for  for UK domiciled funds in March was the intermediary channel, representing 85% of gross retail business. Gross ISA sales of £335 million via fund supermarkets made them the dominant distributor of ISAs, followed by £244 million through sales force/tied agents.

Best selling sector for UK domiciled funds 
The UK Corporate Bond sector was the most popular UK domiciled net retail sector with inflows of £242.4 million. The sector with the biggest outflows in March was the Europe Excluding UK sector, with net outflows of £166.3 million. Property funds saw net retail inflows of £21.4 million after four months of outflows.

OVERSEAS FUNDS

Overseas funds under management of £15.7 billion in March saw a 5% decrease from the previous month, while overseas ISA assets of £296 million fell 3% from February 2008.

Net retail sales of overseas domiciled funds in March saw outflows of £130.6 million. Net retail sales of overseas domiciled investment fund ISAs saw an inflow of £1 million in March, compared to inflows of £2.1 million seen in February.

Summary of overseas domiciled funds - FUM and sales  

Richard Saunders, Chief Executive of the IMA commented:

"The ISA season this year was modest, though over £250 million inflows in the last five days of the tax year pushed it up to respectable levels.  In current uncertain market conditions it is encouraging to see two months of positive net retail and ISA sales, a significant improvement on the previous three months.  Retail investors continue to be cautious, however, with bond funds proving popular."