06
Jan
2022

Fund flows ‘stable’ in November ahead of Omicron news

Savers invested £2.4 billion in investment funds in November 2021, data published today by the Investment Association (IA) reveals, as they remained committed to funds ahead of the news of the Omicron variant towards the end of the month. Tracker funds however, experienced the lowest level of inflows since March 2021, hinting at some underlying investor uncertainty around the trajectory of markets.

Other key findings for November include:

  • Global remained the best-selling IA sector for the sixth straight month. Global was the best-selling sector every month of the last 12 months bar May 2021.
  • Responsible investment fund flows increased significantly in November with over £1.8 bn in net retail sales.

Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association said:

“The retail funds market was stable in November as investors remained committed to funds, however low inflows into trackers hint at investor uncertainty, with US equities trackers and fixed income trackers particularly out of favour. Active management has remained attractive to investors in November, however it remains to be seen how investor attitudes will respond to the impact of the Omicron variant in December.  

“There is one area of certainty however, and that is the continued appetite for sustainable and responsible investments, as investors continue to seek to use their investing power for good.”

FUNDS UNDER MANAGEMENT AND NET SALES 

 

                                 

Funds Under Management  

Net Retail Sales  

Net Institutional Sales  

November 2021   

£1.6 trillion 

£2.4 billion 

-£688 million 

November 2020 

£1.4 trillion 

£8.3 billion 

£2.2 billion 

 

BEST SELLING INVESTMENT ASSOCIATION SECTORS   

  

The five best-selling Investment Association sectors for November 2021 were: 

  

  1. Global was first with net retail sales of £760 million. 
  1. Mixed Investment 40-80% was second with net retail sales of £490 million. 
  1. Volatility Managed followed with net retail sales of £350 million. 
  1. Corporate Bond was fourth with net retail sales of £194 million. 
  1. Global Emerging Markets was fifth with £146 million. 
     

The worst-selling Investment Association sector in November 2021 was UK All Companies, which experienced outflows of £545 million. 

NET RETAIL SALES BY ASSET CLASS 

Equity funds was the best-selling asset class in November 2021, with £918 million in net retail sales. 

Other, (which includes the Targeted Absolute Return, Volatility Managed, and Unclassified sectors) was the second best-selling asset class, with £552 million of inflows. 

Fixed Income funds was the third best-selling asset class in November, with £467 million of inflows.

Mixed Asset was the fourth most popular asset class with inflows of £402 million.  

Money Market funds was the fifth best-selling asset class in November, with £102 million of inflows.

Property funds saw £8 million in outflows.

NET RETAIL SALES OF EQUITY FUNDS BY REGION* 

Global was the best-selling equity fund region in November 2021, with net retail sales of £866 million. 

Japan was second with net retail sales of £82 million. 

Asia, Europe, North America and UK funds all experienced outflows in November 2021. Asia saw net retail outflows of £191 million, European funds experienced outflows of £98 million, North American funds saw £377 million of outflows, and UK funds saw £755 million of outflows. 

TRACKER FUNDS 

Tracker funds saw a net retail inflow of £758 million in November 2021. Tracker funds under management stood at £292 billion as of the end of November. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 18.6%. 

RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT FUNDS 

Responsible investment funds saw a net retail inflow of £1.86 billion in November 2021. Responsible investment funds under management stood at £86.0 billion as of the end of November. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 5.5%. 

GROSS RETAIL SALES BY DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL 

In November, gross retail sales for UK fund platforms totalled £14.5 billion, representing a market share of 49.2%.  

Gross retail sales through Other UK Intermediaries including IFAs were £8.2 billion, representing a market share of 27.9%.  

Direct gross retail sales in October were £1.5 billion, representing a market share of 5%.  

​ENDS 

Savers invested £2.4 billion in investment funds in November 2021, data published today by the Investment Association (IA) reveals, as they remained committed to funds ahead of the news of the Omicron variant towards the end of the month. Tracker funds however, experienced the lowest level of inflows since March 2021, hinting at some underlying investor uncertainty around the trajectory of markets.

Other key findings for November include:

  • Global remained the best-selling IA sector for the sixth straight month. Global was the best-selling sector every month of the last 12 months bar May 2021.
  • Responsible investment fund flows increased significantly in November with over £1.8 bn in net retail sales.

Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association said:

“The retail funds market was stable in November as investors remained committed to funds, however low inflows into trackers hint at investor uncertainty, with US equities trackers and fixed income trackers particularly out of favour. Active management has remained attractive to investors in November, however it remains to be seen how investor attitudes will respond to the impact of the Omicron variant in December.  

“There is one area of certainty however, and that is the continued appetite for sustainable and responsible investments, as investors continue to seek to use their investing power for good.”

FUNDS UNDER MANAGEMENT AND NET SALES 

 

                                 

Funds Under Management  

Net Retail Sales  

Net Institutional Sales  

November 2021   

£1.6 trillion 

£2.4 billion 

-£688 million 

November 2020 

£1.4 trillion 

£8.3 billion 

£2.2 billion 

 

BEST SELLING INVESTMENT ASSOCIATION SECTORS   

 The five best-selling Investment Association sectors for November 2021 were: 

  

  1. Global was first with net retail sales of £760 million. 
  1. Mixed Investment 40-80% was second with net retail sales of £490 million. 
  1. Volatility Managed followed with net retail sales of £350 million. 
  1. Corporate Bond was fourth with net retail sales of £194 million. 
  1. Global Emerging Markets was fifth with £146 million. 
     

The worst-selling Investment Association sector in November 2021 was UK All Companies, which experienced outflows of £545 million. 

NET RETAIL SALES BY ASSET CLASS 

Equity funds was the best-selling asset class in November 2021, with £918 million in net retail sales. 

Other, (which includes the Targeted Absolute Return, Volatility Managed, and Unclassified sectors) was the second best-selling asset class, with £552 million of inflows. 

Fixed Income funds was the third best-selling asset class in November, with £467 million of inflows.

Mixed Asset was the fourth most popular asset class with inflows of £402 million.  

Money Market funds was the fifth best-selling asset class in November, with £102 million of inflows.

Property funds saw £8 million in outflows.

NET RETAIL SALES OF EQUITY FUNDS BY REGION* 

Global was the best-selling equity fund region in November 2021, with net retail sales of £866 million. 

Japan was second with net retail sales of £82 million. 

Asia, Europe, North America and UK funds all experienced outflows in November 2021. Asia saw net retail outflows of £191 million, European funds experienced outflows of £98 million, North American funds saw £377 million of outflows, and UK funds saw £755 million of outflows. 

TRACKER FUNDS 

Tracker funds saw a net retail inflow of £758 million in November 2021. Tracker funds under management stood at £292 billion as of the end of November. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 18.6%. 

RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT FUNDS 

Responsible investment funds saw a net retail inflow of £1.86 billion in November 2021. Responsible investment funds under management stood at £86.0 billion as of the end of November. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 5.5%. 

 GROSS RETAIL SALES BY DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL 

In November, gross retail sales for UK fund platforms totalled £14.5 billion, representing a market share of 49.2%.  

Gross retail sales through Other UK Intermediaries including IFAs were £8.2 billion, representing a market share of 27.9%.  

Direct gross retail sales in October were £1.5 billion, representing a market share of 5%.  

 

ENDS 

 

For further information, please contact:

Katie Martin, Head of Communications: [email protected]

T: +44 (0)20 7269 4655

IA press office: [email protected]

T: 020 7269 4696

This data includes the six new sectors launched from the Investment Association’s (IA) Global and Specialist sectors on Monday 13 September 2021. 

Currently, the two sectors are among the largest within the classification scheme, with 471 funds included within the IA Global sector and 332 in the IA Specialist sector. As the retail fund market evolves and grows, the creation of the new sectors will help investors to more easily find similar types of funds. The decision to create the new sectors was taken by the IA Sectors Committee after a public consultation with the industry and sector users.  

New country - regional equity sectors:  

  • Latin America
  • India/Indian Subcontinent

Industry sectors: 

  • Financials and Financial Innovation
  • Healthcare

Alternative investment approaches: 

  • Infrastructure
  • Commodity/Natural Resources

To see a breakdown of the data referenced in this press release, please see all of the tables here

The Investment Association's figures for fund sales cover retail and institutional sales in authorised unit trusts and open ended investment companies (OEICs) provided by our membership to UK investors. The figures do not include investment trusts and ETFs. 

Each month small revisions to figures have been made since the previous press release. This reflects additional information received by The Investment Association. 

Net retail sales comprise total retail sales minus repurchases (including switches between funds), thus the figures can result in a negative figure or outflow. 

* Regional breakdown for equity funds 

The following Investment Association sectors have been grouped together to compile the figures for regional equity sales: 

Asia: Asia Pacific excl. Japan; Asia Pacific incl. Japan; China/Greater China; India/Indian Subcontinent

Europe: Europe excl. UK; Europe incl. UK; Europe Smaller Companies

Global: Global; Global Emerging Markets; Global Equity Income; Specialist; Healthcare; Technology and Techology innovation; Financials and Financial innovation

Japan: Japan; Japanese Smaller Companies

North America: North America; North America Smaller Companies

UK: UK All Companies; UK Equity Income; UK Smaller Companies

Direct Channels 

Direct includes sales forces and tied agents, private clients and other direct to investor sales without intermediation. 

** The Investment Association’s ISA figures are based on information collected from fund companies and five fund platforms (AEGON, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, Quilter, and Transact) where they are the ISA provider. Fund business through other ISA providers such as wealth managers is not included. The Investment Association’s figures cover about three-quarters of the whole of the market for funds held in ISAs. 

About the Investment Association (IA):

  • The IA champions UK investment management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 270 members manage £9.4 trillion of assets and the investment management industry supports 114,000 jobs across the UK.
  • Our mission is to make investment better. Better for clients, so they achieve their financial goals. Better for companies, so they get the capital they need to grow. And better for the economy, so everyone prospers.
  • Our purpose is to ensure investment managers are in the best possible position to:
    • Build people’s resilience to financial adversity
    • Help people achieve their financial aspirations
    • Enable people to maintain a decent standard of living as they grow older
    • Contribute to economic growth through the efficient allocation of capital.
  • The money our members manage is in a wide variety of investment vehicles including authorised investment funds, pension funds and stocks and shares ISAs.
  • The UK is the second largest investment management centre in the world, after the US and manages over a third (37%) of all assets managed in Europe.