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For immediate release: Tuesday 30 May 2006

INVESTMENT FUND STATISTICS
April 2006

Summary 

• Investment funds under management £386 billion (April 2005 £277 billion)
• Total net industry sales £2.3 billion (April 2005 £813 million)
• Net retail sales £2 billion (April 2005 £715 million)
• Net ISA sales £622 million (April 2005 £586 million)
 

Funds under management 
Investment funds under management of £386 billion in April saw a 1% rise from March and were 39% higher than April 2005. ISA funds under management of £49 billion rose 3% from the previous month and were 29% higher than the previous year.

Graph showing funds under management since April 2005.

Retail sales
Net retail sales of £1.98 billion in April were the second highest monthly total in the last six years, 5% down on the previous month but £1.27 billion (177%) higher than April 2005.  Net ISA sales of £622 million were 8% more than March and up 6% from April 2005.

Net sales by asset class 
Total net sales were £2.3 billion with equities accounting for inflows of £1.2 billion. Of the £2 billion net retail sales £1.3 million was invested in equities, the highest level since April 2001, followed by £413 million in bonds.

Graph showing net retail sales over the last 13 months.

Gross retail sales by sector and distribution channel 
The most popular sector was UK All Companies, representing 20% of gross retail sales. The sector was favoured by intermediaries and accounted for 20% of gross retail business through this channel.   

The most popular distribution channel in in April was the intermediary channel representing 78% of gross retail business. Gross ISA sales of £529 million from sales force/tied agents made them the dominant distributor of ISAs, followed by fund supermarkets accounting for sales of £490 million.

Best selling sector 
The Specialist sector remained the most popular net retail sector with inflows of £365 million. Sales in the sector were dominated by property funds which represented £252 million worth of business. Distribution of the Specialist sector was mainly through intermediaries who were responsible for 92% of the £365 million net retail business. The sector with the biggest outflows in April was the active managed sector with net outflows of £18 million.

Richard Saunders, Chief Executive of the IMA commented:

“Sales continued to be strong in April and the last two months have seen the two highest monthly inflows from investors in six years. While equities continued to dominate net retail sales, reaching their highest levels since April 2001, there have also been strong sales of property funds in the Specialist sector, particularly through intermediaries advising clients to include property within their portfolios.”

-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:
Helen Stephenson, Communications Officer, IMA,  020 7831 0898
 
Out of hours contact:
Mona Patel, Head of Communications, IMA 07834 089332