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 For Immediate Release:  Monday 26 April 2004

 

INVESTMENT FUND STATISTICS 

 March 2004

 

 

  • Investment funds under management £246 billion

  • Gross industry sales £5.7 billion (March 2003 £3.9 billion)

  • Gross retail sales £3.6 billion (March 2003 £2.4 billion)

  • Gross ISA sales £845 million (March 2003 £576 million)

Investment funds under management fell marginally in March to £246 billion from £247 billion the previous month, but were 31% higher than March 2003. ISA funds under management however, continued to grow for the sixth consecutive month to £32.4 billion, the highest level to date and an increase of 41% on the previous year.

Net sales improved in March with total inflows of £536.1 million. Net retail sales of £852 million, were 13% higher than the previous month and 15% higher than last year. This brings the first quarter’s net retail figures to £2.1 billion, a 74% increase on the first quarter of 2003.

Net ISA sales of £496 million were more than double those seen in February and were 21% higher than March 2003. Net ISA sales for the first five days of April were £247 million, bringing net ISA sales for the 2003/04 tax year to £3.6 billion compared to  £4.1 billion the previous tax year. 

The most popular sector in March was the UK All Companies sector attracting 22% of gross retail sales, followed by UK Equity Income with 14%. ISA sales were dominated by the UK All Companies sector, which accounted for 34% of gross sales, followed by UK Corporate Bonds with 17%.

Intermediaries remained the most popular distribution channel with 67% of gross retail sales. Sales force/tied agents were the most popular distributors of ISAs accounting for 36% of gross ISA sales, closely followed by intermediaries (31%) and sales direct from the public (30%).  Over the previous 12 months, the sales force/tied agent channel accounted for almost half of gross ISA sales (49%).

The number of PEP and ISA regular savings plans in circulation fell in the first quarter of the year to £1.66 million from £1.67 million in the previous quarter. Sales of regular savings plans were also down on the previous quarter to £390 million.

Richard Saunders, Chief Executive of the IMA commented:

“ISA sales in March were stronger than last year, though still well below their peak in 2000. Investors have been returning to funds since the middle of last year, and to equities over the last six months. That trend is continuing.”

Summary table: March 2004 – Unit trust/OEIC, ISA and PEP data

 

Mar-04

 

Feb-04

 

Mar-03

 

Total funds under management

£246.0

bn

£247.0

bn

£187.4

bn

ISA funds

£32.4

bn

£32.1

bn

£23.0

bn

PEP funds

£37.4

bn

£38.2

bn

£32.6

bn

OEIC funds

£155.0

bn

£154.3

bn

£105.3

bn

Total gross sales

£5,670.6

m

£3,834.5

m

£3,953.9

m

Gross retail sales

£3,556.9

m

£2,542.8

m

£2,399.1

m

Gross ISA sales

£844.9

m

£431.8

m

£575.5

m

Gross PEP sales

£108.2

m

£79.8

m

£71.0

m

Gross institutional sales

£2,113.7

m

£1,291.7

m

£1,554.8

m

Total repurchases

£5,134.4

m

£4,953.1

m

£3,440.0

m

Retail repurchases

£2,705.0

m

£1,785.8

m

£1,658.7

m

ISA repurchases

£349.5

m

£222.3

m

£165.0

m

PEP repurchases

£374.7

m

£279.2

m

£270.8

m

Institutional repurchases

£2,429.5

m

£3,167.4

m

£1,781.3

m

Total net sales

£536.1

m

-£1,118.6

m

£513.9

m

Net retail sales

£852.0

m

£757.0

m

£740.3

m

Net ISA sales

£495.5

m

£209.5

m

£410.5

m

Net PEP sales

-£266.5

m

-£199.4

m

-£199.7

m

Net Institutional sales

-£315.8

m

-£1,875.7

m

-£226.5

m

Total accounts

19.09

m

19.28

m

18.61

m

ISA accounts

8.23

m

8.23

m

7.93

m

PEP accounts

6.58

m

6.65

m

7.23

m

Number of funds

1,945

 

1,920

 

1,959

 

Number of companies

127

 

127

 

129

 

Number of OEIC providers

73

 

73

 

71

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regular Savings: No. of Plan Holders

 

Q1 2000

Q2 2000

Q3 2000

Q4 2000

Q1 2001

Q2 2001

Q3 2001

Q4 2001

ISA

1,408,040

1,508,137

1,593,089

1,657,533

1,711,011

1,761,793

1,736,393

1,656,675
Non ISA

294,794

357,795

366,294

362,485

319,893

319,365

311,045

331,663
Total

1,702,834

1,865,932

1,959,383

2,020,018

2,030,904

2,081,158

2,047,438

1,988,338

 

 

Q1 2002

Q2 2002

Q3 2002

Q4 2002

Q1 2003
Q2 2003

Q3 2003

Q4 2003

ISA

1,657,111

1,593,893

1,560,062

1,554,530

1,537,339

1,466,976

1,402,618

1,391,838
Non ISA

336,886

344,931

335,185

337,113

338,670

324,031

286,898

273,529
Total

1,993,997

1,938,824

1,895,247

1,891,243

1,876,019

1,791,007

1,689,516

1,665,367
                       

 

 

Q1 2004

Q2 2004

Q3 2004

Q4 2004

ISA

1,386,458