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 For Immediate Release:  Monday 25 October 2004

 

INVESTMENT FUND STATISTICS 

September 2004

 

  • Investment funds under management £254 billion

  • Gross industry sales £4.5 billion (September 2003 £4.1 billion)

  • Gross retail sales £2.4 billion (September 2003 £2.4 billion)

  • Gross ISA sales £349 million (September 2003 £442 million)

Funds under management grew 2% from August to the highest level since May 2001. ISA funds under management were £35 billion, a rise of 2% from the previous month and an increase of 23% from September 2003.

Total net sales in September were up 14% from August, but 18% below September 2003. Net retail sales of £265.8 million were almost four times the inflows seen in August, but less than half the £559 million seen the previous year. Third quarter net retail sales of £418 million fell 65% from the previous quarter and were significantly behind the £1.2 billion seen in the same quarter of 2003.

ISA sales saw a net outflow for the first time since their introduction in April 1999. The net outflow of £23.5 million followed what had been the lowest recorded inflow of £25 million in August. The figures include a net outflow of £37 million from the UK All Companies sector.

In terms of gross retail sales, the most popular sector in September was UK All Companies accounting for 20% of gross retail sales, followed by UK Equity Income (15%) and UK Corporate Bond (10%).

In September, Intermediaries were responsible for 74% of gross retail sales. The most popular sector through this channel was UK All Companies accounting for 18% of sales. Sales force/tied agents were the biggest sellers of investment fund ISAs in September, accounting for 45% of gross ISA sales. The top selling sector through this channel was UK Corporate Bonds accounting for 41% of sales.

The third quarter of the year saw the total number of regular savings plans fall to 1.56 million from 1.6 million in quarter two. ISA plans also fell in quarter three to 1.3 million, a 2% fall from the previous quarter.

Richard Saunders, Chief Executive, IMA commented:

“Despite stronger markets in September, investor confidence remains low. The first net outflow that we have recorded from ISAs shows that efforts to attract investors back to the market are not yet succeeding. The reasons are many and complex, but are likely to include continuing uncertainty about investment prospects, higher interest rates and the reduced tax benefits associated with ISAs.”


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

 

Sep-04

 

Aug-04

 

Sep-03

 

Total funds under management

£254.4

bn

£248.5

bn

£224.2

bn

ISA funds

£35.3

bn

£34.5

bn

£28.7

bn

PEP funds

£36.6

bn

£36.1

bn

£36.4

bn

OEIC funds

£161.7

bn

£157.9

bn

£138.6

bn

Total gross sales

£4,450.3

m

£3,606.2

m

£4,130.8

m

Gross retail sales

£2,392.2

m

£2,088.2

m

£2,416.0

m

Gross ISA sales

£348.7

m

£346.9

m

£441.9

m

Gross PEP sales

£65.1

m

£80.4

m

£67.8

m

Gross institutional sales

£2,058.1

m

£1,518.0

m

£1,714.8

m

Total repurchases

£3,993.6

m

£3,206.0

m

£3,573.5

m

Retail repurchases

£2,126.4

m

£2,020.4

m

£1,857.1

m

ISA repurchases

£372.2

m

£322.5

m

£182.4

m

PEP repurchases

£372.6

m

£361.2

m

£248.4

m

Institutional repurchases

£1,867.2

m

£1,185.6

m

£1,716.4

m

Total net sales

£456.7

m

£400.2

m

£557.4

m

Net retail sales

£265.8

m

£67.8

m

£558.9

m

Net ISA sales

-£23.5

m

£24.8

m

£259.5

m

Net PEP sales

-£307.5

m

-£280.8

m

-£180.6

m

Net Institutional sales

£190.9

m

£332.4

m

-£1.6

m

Total accounts

18.50

m

18.62

m

18.69

m

ISA accounts

8.35

m

8.27

m

8.12

m

PEP accounts

6.10

m

6.17

m

6.96

m

Number of funds

1,944

 

1,942

 

1,902

 

Number of companies

125

 

124

 

129

 

Number of OEIC providers

76

 

75

 

74

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional tables are available at:

 

 

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

1,369,419

1,335,491

1,304,937

 

Non ISA

266,179

262,476

259,118

 

Total

1,635,598

1,597,967

1,564,055

 

 

   Sales: £mn

 

 

Q1 2000

Q2 2000

Q3 2000

Q4 2000

Q1 2001

Q2 2001

Q3 2001

Q4 2001

ISA

£386.3m

£421.2m

£4