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For immediate release: Tuesday 30 August 2005

INVESTMENT FUND STATISTICS
July  2005

Summary 

• Investment funds under management £308 billion (July 2004 £244 billion)
• Total net industry sales £728 million (July 2004 £145 million)
• Net retail sales £852 million (July 2004 £85 million)
• Net ISA sales £69 million (July 2004 £77 million)

Funds under management 
Investment funds under management of £308 billion in July saw a rise of 3% from June and were 26% higher than July 2004. ISA funds under management of £42 billion also rose by 3% from June, and were 28% higher than the previous year.

Graph showing funds under management since July 2004.

ISA sales 
Net ISA sales of £69 million in July were up 12% from June but were down 10% from July 2004. The most popular ISA sector in July was UK All Companies, accounting for 28% of gross ISA sales.

Net sales by asset class
Total net sales were £728 million with bonds accounting for inflows of £510 million. Of the £852 million net retail sales £367 million was invested in equities, followed by £192 million in bonds. 

Graph showing net retail sales over the last 13 months.

Gross retail sales by sector and distribution channel 

The most popular distribution channel in July was the intermediary channel representing 79% of gross retail business. Sales force/tied agents remained the dominant channel for ISA sales and were responsible for 49% of gross ISA sales.

Best selling sector 
UK Corporate Bond remained the most popular net retail sector with inflows of £135 million. The sector with the biggest net retail outflows in July was UK All Companies with outflows of £29 million.  

Sheila Nicoll, Deputy Chief Executive of the IMA commented:

“Strong sales and market performance in July saw funds under management of UK authorised investment funds pass the £300 billion mark for the first time ever, while net retail sales reached their highest level since July 2003.  Perhaps this is a sign that investor confidence is returning and the messages about the need to save for the long-term are getting through.”

-Ends-

Glossary

Detailed tables
1. Summary table 
2. Funds under management by asset class
3. Unit trust/OEIC sales
4. Net sales by asset class
5. Gross retail sales – 10 year summary
6. Sector summary – current month
7. Retail business by sector and channel – current month
8. Summary of best and worst selling sectors
9. Funds under management – 13 month chart
10. Net retail sales – 13 month chart
11. Performance of average fund by IMA sector

If you have any comments on presentation of the monthly statistics please e-mail press@investmentuk.org

For further information, please contact:
Mona Patel, Head of Communications, IMA, 020 7831 0898
 
Out of hours contact:
Mona Patel, Head of Communications, IMA, 07834 089332