Investors continue to back UK companies in July
Investors channelled £295 million into funds investing in UK companies in July, in the second consecutive month of inflows to the UK All Companies sector, July data published today by the Investment Association (IA) reveals. The FTSE All-Share rallied towards the end of the month and the outlook for dividend payments continues to strengthen, which may be contributing to more positive investor sentiment towards UK shares. The FTSE All-Share total return year-to-date is 11.68%.The other key findings for July include:
- Net retail sales remained strong in July at £4.8 billion, slightly up on June’s inflow of £4.4 billion. Net retail sales to equities were the highest of any asset class at £1.7 billion for the second consecutive month.
- Tracker fund sales remained healthy at £1.7 billion.
- Responsible investment funds saw inflows of £1.4 billion, the 6th month in 2021 where inflows have topped £1 billion.
- Global was the best-selling IA sector in July for the sixth time this year with net retail sales of £862 million.
Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association, said: “Typically we experience quieter months for net retail sales over the summer period, but this year we have seen consistent and robust inflows through June and July, which speaks to investor confidence being maintained and no rush to spend the savings accumulated during the crisis. We are still early on in the inflation story and have not yet seen any moves away from persistent low interest rates, which makes cash saving less attractive and has potentially helped fund flows in the near term.
“An improved dividend outlook has helped to further reduce outflows from the UK Equity Income sector after a sustained period of outflows. In the UK, dividends are not only a source of income but are also an important driver of returns and it is encouraging to see another inflow of £295 million to the UK All Companies sector.”
FUNDS UNDER MANAGEMENT AND NET SALES
|
|
Funds Under Management |
Net Retail Sales |
Net Institutional Sales |
|
July 2021 |
£1.5 trillion |
£4.8 billion |
-£283 million |
|
July 2020 |
£1.3 trillion |
£1.7 billion |
£5.7 billion |
BEST SELLING INVESTMENT ASSOCIATION SECTORS
The five best-selling Investment Association sectors for July 2021 were:
- Global was first with net retail sales of £862 million.
- Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares - was second with net retail sales of £648 million.
- Volatility Managed followed with net retail sales of £509 million
- Short Term Money Market was fourth with net retail sales of £416 million.
- UK All Companies was fifth with net retail sales of £295 million.
The worst-selling Investment Association sector in July 2021 was Corporate Bond with an outflow of £205
NET RETAIL SALES BY ASSET CLASS
Equity was the best-selling asset class in July 2021 with £1.7 billion in net retail sales.
Fixed Income was the second best-selling asset class, with £954 million of inflows.
Mixed Asset funds experienced £938 million of inflows.
Other funds (which includes the Targeted Absolute Return, Volatility Managed, and Unclassified sectors) experienced £702 million of net retail sales.
Money Market funds experienced net retail inflows in July £506 million.
After a sustained period of outflows, property funds experienced £4 million of inflows.
NET RETAIL SALES OF EQUITY FUNDS BY REGION*
Global was the best-selling equity fund region in July 2021, with net retail sales of £1.2 billion.
After two months of outflows, UK funds were second in July, seeing net retail inflows of £245 million.
Europe funds saw net retail inflows of £90 million.
Asia funds experienced net retail inflows of £57 million.
North America funds experienced net retail inflows of £19 million, and Japan funds experienced inflows of £5 million.
TRACKER FUNDS
Tracker funds saw a net retail inflow of £1.7 billion in July 2021. Tracker funds under management stood at £280 billion as of the end of July. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 18.3%.
RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT FUNDS
Responsible investment funds saw a net retail inflow of £1.4 billion in July 2021. Responsible investment funds under management stood at £81 billion as of the end of July. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 5.3%.
GROSS RETAIL SALES BY DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL
In July, gross retail sales for UK fund platforms totalled £13.8 billion, representing a market share of 53.4%.
Gross retail sales through Other UK Intermediaries including IFAs were £6.6 billion, representing a market share of 25.7%.
Direct gross retail sales in July were £782 million, representing a market share of 3.0%.
ENDS
Katie Martin, Head of Communications: [email protected]
Clive Booth, Communications Manager: [email protected]
Camilla Esmund, Communications Executive: [email protected]
T: +44 (0)20 7269 4625
IA press office: [email protected]
Notes for Editors
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 |
Europe |
Global |
Japan |
North America |
UK |
|
Asia Pacific excl. Japan |
Europe excl. UK |
Global |
Japan |
North America |
UK All Companies |
|
Asia Pacific incl. Japan |
Europe incl. UK |
Global Emerging Markets |
Japanese Smaller Companies |
North America Smaller Companies |
UK Equity Income |
|
China/Greater China |
Europe Smaller Companies |
Global Equity Income |
UK Smaller Companies |
||
|
Specialist |
|||||
|
Technology and Telecommunications |
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 250 members manage £8.5 trillion of assets and the investment management industry supports 113,000 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 35% of all assets managed in Europe.
