Press Release

INVESTMENT FUND STATISTICS October 2007

26 November 2007

Summary	UK Domiciled	Overseas Domiciled
Funds under Management	£480.6 billion (October 2006 £395.1 billion)	£18.5 billion (October 2006 £11.4 billion)
Net retail sales	£875.7 million (October 2006 £1.6 billion)	-£46.1 million (October 2006 -£88.2 million)
Net ISA sales	-£31.3 million (October 2006 £83.4 million)	£3.1 million (October 2006 £1.7 million)

UK Domiciled funds

Funds under management

Funds under management of UK domiciled investment funds were £480.6 billion in October, a rise of 3% from September and 22% higher than October 20061.  UK domiciled ISA funds under management of £55.9 billion were up 2% from the previous month and 12% higher than the previous year.

1 The increase in funds under management is mainly due to the inclusion of additional institutional funds from January 2007.  The total FUM for October 2007 would have been £450.8 billion without these funds, an increase of 14% from October 2006.   

Graph showing UK domiciled funds under management since October 2006

ISA sales

Net sales of UK domiciled investment fund ISAs saw outflows of £31.3 million in October 2007, down from inflows of £43.2 million the previous month and £83.4 million in October 2006.

The most popular UK domiciled ISA sector excluding fund supermarket data, in October 2007 was UK All Companies, accounting for 24% of gross ISA sales.  In net terms the most popular ISA sector was Cautious Managed.

UK domiciled net sales by asset class

Of the £876 million net retail sales £563 million was invested in equities, followed by £209 million in balanced funds. Institutional holdings of unit trusts and OEICs saw outflows of £505 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 October 2006 was UK All Companies, representing 18% of gross retail sales of UK domiciled funds. 82% of gross retail sales into the UK All Companies were via the intermediary channel

The most popular distribution channel for UK domiciled funds in October 2007 was the intermediary channel representing 87% of gross retail business. Gross ISA sales of £236 million from fund supermarkets made them the dominant distributor of ISAs, followed by £181 million through sales force/tied agents.

Best selling sector for UK domiciled funds

Net inflows of £202.5 million were reported in the Specialist sector, attributable principally to net inflows of £166 million to commodity funds; other asset types also saw inflows, but property funds had net outflows of £48 million.

The sector with the biggest outflows in October 2007 was Global Bonds with net outflows of £152.8 million.

OVERSEAS FUNDS

Overseas funds under management of £18.5 billion in October 2007 saw a 7% increase from the previous month, while overseas ISA assets of £353 million grew 6% from September 2007.

Net retail sales of overseas domiciled funds in October 2007 saw outflows of £46.1 million. Net retail sales of overseas domiciled investment fund ISAs were £3.1 million in October 2007, an increase of 55% on September 2007

Summary of overseas domiciled funds - FUM and sales

Richard Saunders, Chief Executive of the IMA commented:

"Overall net retail sales continued to hold up well despite recent market volatility with equities remaining the most popular asset class for retail investors. Net ISA sales moved into negative territory for the first time in a year, continuing the subdued trend of the last few months."