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Embargoed: 12.00pm:  Tuesday 30 May 2000

MARKET JITTERS DON'T BUG INVESTORS

• Unit trust and OEIC funds under management - £254.5bn

• Gross sales of investment funds - £5.5bn, up 16% on April 1999 (£4.7bn)

• Gross retail sales of unit trusts and OEICs - £3.9bn

• Investment fund ISA sales of £1.8bn

Investors poured over £1.8bn into ISAs in April. This includes £997million invested in the first week to catch the end of the 1999/2000 financial year. ISA funds under management passed the £12bn mark by the end of the month, with over four million ISA accounts having been taken out. Over a quarter of all unit trust and OEIC accounts are now held within an ISA wrapper. IFAs were the lead distribution channel in April, accounting for over 43% of all investment fund ISA sales. ‘Sales forces/tied agents’ and ‘direct’ were responsible for 34% and 23% of the business respectively.

Institutional repurchases of £2.6bn were inflated by a single transaction, as one management company transferred some £1.2bn out of investment funds into a life fund.

Technology funds continued to attract investors with gross retail sales of £319mn, accounting for 8% of all retail gross sales. As in previous months, IFAs are responsible for over 80% of these technology fund sales. It should be noted that this channel does include discount broker transactions, so may not all be advice driven. AUTIF is currently trying to establish the contribution of discount broker sales to the IFA channel.

Anne McMeehan, Director of Communications, of AUTIF, commented:

"Unit trust and OEIC investors have remained calm in spite of recent market downturns; few have chosen to cash in their funds. Increasingly, investors seem to be aware that unit trusts and OEICs are a long-term investment and that the risk of loss reduces over time, albeit short-term price fluctuations are inevitable."

"AUTIF now has a free Investment Guide,‘Understanding the risks and rewards of investment funds’, which explains this and other risks associated with stockmarket investment, and how they can affect the potential rewards presented by unit trusts and OEICs."

Copies are available free by calling +44 (0)20 8207 1361 and are also on the AUTIF website, www.investmentfunds.org.uk

Summary table: April - Unit Trust, ISA and PEP data

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 April 2000

Worst selling funds in April 2000

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

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