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Embargoed: 12.00pm: Tuesday 2 May 2000

MARKET VOLATILITY TO DAMPEN INVESTORS' ENTHUSIASM AS BEST MONTH EVER SALES FIGURES RECORDED

  • Gross sales of unit trusts and OEICs in March 2000 - £8.2billion
  • Total investment funds under management reach £262 billion
  • OEIC funds, managed by 38 providers, rise to 20% (£51.6 billion) of total industry funds under management
March proved to be a record-breaking month for the investment funds industry. It enjoyed its best ever month for sales, grossing some £8.2 billion. This was an increase of 28% on last year’s £6.4 billion. Non-ISA/PEP business accounted for almost half retail gross sales.In spite of a marked increase in market volatility, investors were nevertheless eager to beat the end of year deadline for ISA contributions. ISA sales gained significant momentum as they approached the end of their first tax year. March sales figures of £2.4 billion more than doubled the February inflow. But this was still not enough to beat the end of year PEP bonanza of £3.2 billion at the end of March 1999. Total ISA funds under management stood at £10.8 billion at the end of March 2000.The most active sectors for both in and outflows of business were the Europe ex UK and UK All Companies sectors, with ‘technology’ funds continuing to attract a significant proportion of inward investment. Net sales of over £725 million went into the Specialist sector, compared with £735m into the far larger UK All Companies sector. Total net sales were £3.2bn, down 14% on last year’s £3.7bn. Anne McMeehan, Director of Communications at AUTIF, commented:
"Both sales and repurchase levels for this March were unusually high, suggesting that investors this year were not merely seeking to crystallise, what for many of them will have been quite substantial capital gains, but also taking the opportunity to be particularly active in reorganising their investment portfolios.
She continued:
"Much as had been previously anticipated there has also been considerable growth since last year in the number of OEICs providers. Last year there were 20 providers managing 161 sub-funds with assets of £18.9 billion, which at that time represented 9% of the industry’s funds under management. We can now report that there are 38 providers managing 316 sub-funds with assets of £51.6 billion, representing some 20% of the industry’s funds under management."

Summary Table: March – Unit Trust, ISA and PEP Data

Mar 00

Feb 00

Mar 99

Total funds

£262.0 bn

£254.5 bn

£199.3 bn

PEP funds

£59.3 bn

£58.1 bn

£56.1 bn

ISA funds

£10.8 bn

£8.605 bn

Total gross sales

£8,210.3 m

£4,776.6 m

£6,411.0 m

Total repurchases

£5,036.3 m

£3,770.8 m

£2,741.4 m

Total net sales

£3,174.0 m

£1,005.8 m

£3,669.6 m

Net retail sales

£2,869.4 m

£1,536.9 m

£3,039.2 m

Net institutional sales

£304.6 m

£-531.1 m

£630.4 m

Gross PEP sales

£316.3 m

£227.6 m

£3,172.6 m

Gross ISA sales

£2,393.4 m

£1,072.5 m

Net PEP sales

£-351.3 m

£-317.9 m

£2,604.7 m

Net ISA sales

£2,319.5 m

£1,029.2 m

 

 

Total accounts

14.5 m

14.4 m

12.2 m

ISA accounts

3.594 m

3.053 m

PEP accounts

8.80 m

9.34 m

9.79 m

Number of funds

1,803

1,795

1,781

Number of companies

156

155

150

 

For further information please contact:

Anne McMeehan, Director of Communications, AUTIF, +44 (0)20 7831 0898
Michael Quach, Head of Statistics, AUTIF, +44 (0)20 7831 0898
Clare Arber, PR Manager, AUTIF, +44 (0)20 7831 0898

Notes to Editors:

Best selling funds in March 2000

Net Retail Sales
UK All Companies
Specialist		 Net Institutional Sales
Balanced Managed
Japan

Worst selling funds in March 2000

Net Retail Sales
UK Equity Income
Guaranteed/Protected Funds		 Net Institutional Sales
UK Smaller Companies
Japanese Smaller Companies

Summary Sheet
Sector Summary
Retail Gross Sales
Retail Repurchases
Retail Net Sales
Institutional Sales
PEP Summary

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© IMA 2002. Last Updated: 20 April, 2001