UK savers took £137 million out of funds in October 2023, according to data published by the Investment Association (IA), down from September’s £1.5 billion outflow.
Key findings for October 2023:
- Equity funds and Fixed Income funds saw outflows of £376 million and £429 million respectively.
- Mixed Asset funds turned to a mild outflow of £3 million this month, following last month’s £781 million inflow.
- Outflows were offset by £938 million of inflows into Money Market funds.
- Tracker Funds experienced outflows of £331 million – the highest outflow on record.
- UK All Companies was the worst-selling sector this month, with outflows of £939 million – the highest outflows since April. Meanwhile, Short Term Money Market was the best-selling sector, with inflows of £650 million.
- Responsible Investment funds remained negative in October, with outflows of £530 million, down from last month’s record outflow.
Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association, said:
“While we saw a smaller outflow in October following September’s £1.5 billion outflow, it remains a challenging environment for investors. Short Term Money Market was the best-selling sector, with investors parking their savings and taking a “wait-and-see” approach as the cost-of-living crisis continues the impact the ability to invest.
“We may see savers re-allocate their funds once market conditions have calmed down. However, in the meantime, investors are gravitating towards safer asset classes, and UK Gilts and other Government Bond funds were selling well in October.”
FUNDS UNDER MANAGEMENT AND NET SALES
| Funds Under Management | Net Retail Sales | Net Institutional Sales | |
| October 2023 | £1.35 trillion | -£137 million | -£4.3 billion |
| October 2022 | £1.35 trillion | -£3.9 billion | -£9.8 billion |
BEST SELLING INVESTMENT ASSOCIATION SECTORS
The five best-selling Investment Association sectors for October 2023 were:
- Short Term Money Market with net retail sales of £650 million.
- Volatility Managed with net retail sales of £268 million.
- Japan followed with net retail sales of £229 million.
- Specialist Bond with net retail sales of £221 million.
- UK Gilts was fifth with net retail sales of £206 million.
The worst-selling Investment Association sector in October 2023 was UK All Companies, which experienced outflows of £939 million.
NET RETAIL SALES BY ASSET CLASS
Money Market saw inflows of £938 million.
Mixed Asset funds saw outflows of £3 million.
Property funds experienced £33 million in outflows.
Other funds saw £234 million in outflows.
Equity funds saw outflows of £376 million.
Fixed Income funds saw outflows of £429 million.
NET RETAIL SALES OF EQUITY FUNDS BY REGION*
Japan funds experienced inflows of £229 million.
North America funds saw inflows of £70 million.
Asia funds saw net retail outflows of £81 million.
Europe funds saw outflows of £527 million.
Global funds saw net retail outflows of £989 million.
UK funds saw outflows of £1.3 billion.
TRACKER FUNDS
Tracker funds saw net retail outflows of £331 million in October 2023. Tracker funds under management stood at £294 billion at the end of October. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 21.8%.
RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT FUNDS
Responsible investment funds saw a net retail outflow of £530 million in October 2023. Responsible investment funds under management stood at £92 billion at the end of October. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 6.8%.
GROSS RETAIL SALES BY DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL
Gross retail sales for UK fund platforms totalled £12.1 billion, representing a market share of 32.7%.
Gross retail sales through other UK Intermediaries including IFAs totalled £19.2 billion, representing a market share of 52.1%.
Gross retail sales for Discretionary Manager totalled £1.8 billion, representing a market share of 4.8%.
Direct gross retail sales totalled £836 million, representing a market share of 2.3%.
In October, Execution only intermediaries totalled £194 million in gross retail sales and accounted for 0.5% of the market.
