06
Feb
2020

Tracker funds climb to record £18bn inflows in 2019

Thursday 6 February

In 2019, UK savers invested £15 billion into the UK retail fund market, double that of the previous year. A record £18.1 billion was placed into tracker funds in 2019, up by nearly 70% from the previous 2017 record of £10.8 billion, new analysis of industry data published today by the Investment Association (IA) shows.

The analysis from the UK retail fund market in 2019 found:

  • Net retail sales and funds under management: inflows to funds of £15 billion in 2019 more than doubled from 2018’s flows of £7.2 billion, as the size of funds under management in the UK reached a new all-time-high of £1.3 trillion as of the end of 2019.
  • Tracker funds: half of the £18.1 billion net retail flows into tracker funds went to equity trackers (£8.9bn), as most major stock markets performed well, particularly in the second half of 2019. This compared to £3.2 billion in outflows from active funds in 2019.
  • Responsible investment funds: £1.3 billion of net retail sales flowed into responsible investment funds in the final quarter of 2019, up from £190 million in the first quarter of 2019.

Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association, said:

“Amid significant political uncertainty and challenging economic headwinds globally, the amount managed in funds on behalf of UK savers grew to new heights of £1.3 trillion. As global stock markets climbed, many savers swung heavily behind tracker funds in 2019.

“We also saw investors ramping up the hunt for funds that consider the impact of their investment strategy on the wider world, as they ploughed £1.3 billion into responsible investment funds in the final quarter of the year alone.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Katie Martin, Head of Communications: [email protected]

T: +44 (0)20 7269 4655

Helen Ayres, Communications Manager: [email protected] 

T: +44 (0)20 7269 4620

David Parton, Communications Executive: [email protected]

T: +44 (0)20 7269 4625

IA press office: [email protected]

T: 020 7269 4696

Notes to Editors:

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.

About the Investment Association (IA):

  • The IA champions UK asset management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 250 members manage £7.7 trillion of assets and the asset management industry supports 115,000 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 37% of all assets managed in Europe.