Net retail flows into UK funds rose to £20 billion (€24 billion) last year, an increase of nearly half compared with the previous year, according to new data.
Equity funds attracted more than £11 billion of the money, and mixed asset funds attracted nearly £5 billion. Bond funds, which had been the best-selling fund type in 2012, attracted no new money last year, according to the data from the Investment Management Association (IMA), the UK trade group.
“Retail investors were highly active in 2013, committing an average of over £1.6 billion of new money to funds every month,” says Daniel Godfrey, IMA chief executive. “Equity funds took by far the largest share of the net inflows from investors.”
Funds under management rose in the UK rose to £770 billion, according to the data, which includes authorised unit trusts and open ended investment companies but excludes investment trusts and exchange-traded funds. This was an increase of 16% compared with 2012.
UK fund platforms accounted for 49% of retail sales in 2013, a proportion that has steadily increased in the last three years. Retail sales through intermediaries such as financial advisers accounted for 42% and direct sales were 8%.
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