Data published today by the Investment Association (IA) reveals that UK savers remain positive in the broader market, making stable allocations across asset classes.
Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association, commented: “The overall mood remains positive as we head into the summer. In response to European stocks performing well, UK savers invested £101 million into Europe funds – the first month of inflows to this region this year. Elsewhere, it was encouraging to see that demand for responsible investment funds remains high, reaching flows of £5.5 billion year-to-date.”
Funds under management and net sales
| Funds Under Management | Net Retail Sales | Net Institutional Sales | |
| May 2021 | £1.5 trillion | £3.5 billion | -£613 billion |
| May 2020 | £1.3 trillion | £4.8 billion | £776 billion |
Best selling investment association sectors
The five best-selling Investment Association sectors for May 2021 were:
1. Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares was first with net retail sales of £692 million.
2. Global was second with net retail sales of £445 million.
3. Volatility Managed followed with net retail sales of £394 million.
4. Global Emerging Markets was fourth with net retail sales of £378 million.
5. £ Corporate Bond was fifth with net retail sales of £310 million.
The worst-selling Investment Association sector in May 2021 was UK Equity Income with an outflow of £375 million.
Net retail sales by asset class
- Mixed Asset funds were the best-selling asset class in May 2021 with £1.2 billion in net retail sales.
- Equity was the second best-selling asset class, with £1 billion of inflows.
- Fixed Income funds experienced £986 million of inflows.
- Other funds (which includes the Targeted Absolute Return, Volatility Managed, and Unclassified sectors) experienced £388 million of net retail sales.
- Money Market funds experienced net retail inflows in May of £25 million.
- Property funds however experienced £184 million in net retail outflows.
Net retail sales of equity funds by region
- Global was the best-selling equity fund region in May 2021, with net retail sales of £736 million.
- North America funds were second, seeing net retail inflows of £206 million.
- Europe funds saw net retail inflows of £101 million.
- Asia funds experienced net retail inflows of £59 million.
- UK funds was the only equity fund region that experienced outflows, which totalled -£571 million.
Tracker funds
Tracker funds saw a net retail inflow of £1.5 billion in May 2021. Tracker funds under management stood at £271 billion as of the end of May. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 17.9%.
Responsible investment funds
Responsible investment funds saw a net retail inflow of £1.3 billion in May 2021. Responsible investment funds under management stood at £73 billion as of the end of May. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 4.8%.
Gross retail sales by distribution channel
In May, gross retail sales for UK fund platforms totalled £14 billion, representing a market share of 50.5%.
Gross retail sales through Other UK Intermediaries including IFAs were £7 billion, representing a market share of 25.0%.
Direct gross retail sales in May were £1.6 billion, representing a market share of 5.6%.
