• Net retail sales were £1.3 billion compared to £2.0 billion in October 2014
• UK Equity Income was the best-selling Investment Association sector for the sixth consecutive month with net retail sales of £466 million
• Property was the best-selling asset class with net retail sales of £366 million
• Tracker funds net retail sales remained strong at £488 million.
Daniel Godfrey, The Investment Association Chief Executive, said:
“Net retail sales in November were £1.3 billion broadly in line with the average since the third quarter of 2014.
“Property and equity funds were the most popular asset classes during November with mixed asset funds also doing well. Investors sought a diverse spread of asset classes and Investment Association sectors, with the top five selling sectors encompassing equity growth, equity income, mixed asset, fixed income and property funds.”
FUNDS UNDER MANAGEMENT AND NET SALES
(Table 3 and Chart A.)
ASSET CLASSES
Property returned as the best-selling asset class in November 2014 with net retail sales of £366 million, having last been the top selling in September 2014.
Equity was the second best-selling asset class with net retail sales of £350 million, well down from £982 million in October.
Mixed Asset was the third best-selling asset class in November with net retail sales of £286 million.
(Table 4 and Chart B)
NET RETAIL SALES OF EQUITY FUNDS BY REGION
Global equity funds were the best-selling in November with net retail sales of £335 million.
UK equity funds were the second best-selling with net retail sales £111 million – having been the best-selling region in October with sales of £835 million.
North American equity funds were the third best-selling region with net retail sales of £88 million.
European equity funds continued to see negative sales with net outflows of £197 million in November.
(Table 4)
THE INVESTMENT ASSOCIATION SECTOR RANKINGS
The top five best-selling Investment Association sectors for November 2014 were:
1. UK Equity Incomewith net retail sales of £466 million. This sector has been the best-selling for six consecutive months.
2. Propertywith net retail sales of £366 million.
3. Mixed Investment 20-60% Shareswith net retail sales of £176 million.
4. £ Strategic Bondwith net retail sales of £144 million.
5. Global with net retail sales of £137 million.
The worst-selling Investment Association sector for November 2014 was UK All Companies which saw a net retail outflow of £287 million. This sector has been the worst-selling for five out of the last six months.
(Tables 5, 6, 7)
RETAIL DISTRIBUTION
In November 2014, UK fund platforms continued to see the highest gross retail sales at £6.2 billion, representing a 51.9% market share (49.7% in November 2013).
Gross retail sales for Other Intermediaries (includes Wealth Managers, Stockbrokers and IFAs) totalled £4.9 billion in November 2014 representing a market share of 41.3% (42.8% in November 2013).
Direct gross retail sales in November 2014 were £816 million, representing a market share of 6.8% (7.5% in November 2013).
(Table 8)
FUND PLATFORM PRODUCT SALES
For the five fund platforms that provide data to The Investment Association (Cofunds, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, Skandia and Transact) net sales for November 2014 were £822 million.
Personal Pensions had the highest net sales at £385 million, followed by Unwrapped (£286 million), ISAs (£153 million) and Insurance Bonds (-£3 million).
For the same five fund platforms, funds under management as at the end of November 2014 were £183 billion, compared with £162 billion a year earlier.
(Table 9)
ISAs
In November 2014, ISAs saw net retail sales of £11 million through fund companies and the five fund platforms that provide data to The Investment Association (Cofunds, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, Skandia and Transact), compared to £21 million in November 2013.
(Table 10)
The top three best-selling sectors for ISAs based on the five fund platforms were:
1. UK Equity Income (£72 million net sales)
2. Property (£26 million net sales)
3. Mixed Investment Shares 20-60% Shares (£22 million net sales)
(Table 5)
FUND OF FUNDS
Net retail sales for funds of funds in November 2014 were £275 million.
Net retail sales of funds of funds invested with different asset management firms were £241 million, compared to £34 million for funds of funds invested into the same firm’s funds.
Funds under management for funds of funds were at £96.9 billion as at the end of November 2014, accounting for 11.5% of industry funds under management, compared with 11.4% in November 2013.
(Table 11)
TRACKER FUNDS
Tracker funds saw net retail sales £488 million with funds under management of £92.9 billion as at the end of November 2014. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 11.0%, compared with 9.7% in November 2013.
(Table 12)
ETHICAL FUNDS
Net retail sales of ethical funds were £42 million in November 2014. Funds under management reached £10.1 billion at the end of November, representing a 1.2% share of industry funds under management.
(Table 12)
OVERSEAS DOMICILED FUNDS
In November 2014, there was a net retail outflow of £150 million from overseas domiciled funds.
(Table 13)