Responsible Funds Continue to See Significant Inflows With an Extra £1.5bn Invested in October – Ia Statistics

  • Investment , Fund Management , Data
  • 03.12.2021 12:00 pm

Responsible investment funds experienced strong inflows in October according to the latest set of Investment Association (IA) data, released today.

  • Responsible Investment fund flows remained strong with £1.5 billion of net retail sales in October, taking the total value to £88.7bn, or 5.7% of industry funds under management.
  • Global was the best-selling IA sector in October with inflows of £730 million.
  • UK, Japan, and North America funds all experienced outflows in October 2021.
  • The UK saw net retail outflows of £661 million, North America funds experienced outflows of £187 million, and Japan funds saw £8 million of outflows. 
  • Outflows from UK equities and North America were partly offset by inflows to funds investing in Global equities (£586) and Asia (£201) but equity net sales overall were down by £700 million from September. 
  • The worst-selling Investment Association sector in October 2021 was UK All Companies, which experienced outflows of £349 million. 

Emma Wall, Head of Investment Analysis and Research:

“Responsible funds continue to see significant inflows from retail investors keen to do good and make money at the same time. With an extra £1.5bn invested in October this now takes the total invested in responsible funds to £88.7bn. It is small fry compared to the wider market, at just 5.7% of funds under management but making inroads.

Looking across the IA sectors, it is good to see investors taking gains from US equity funds, which have delivered considerable returns in recent years, driven by growth stocks and tech firms, many US funds have defied the coronavirus headwinds faced by domestic equities here in the UK.

The UK market continues to be unloved, despite the potential value opportunity versus global peers, and UK equity funds saw outflows of £661m in October. Global funds topped the most popular sector. It is worth noting that these fund flows were prior to the recent identification of the new coronavirus variant, and the impact that has had on global markets. We have seen a shift in the last week towards more defensive assets, and fund flows for November should reflect this change in sentiment.”

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