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For immediate release: Monday 26 June 2006

INVESTMENT FUND STATISTICS
May 2006

Summary 

• Investment funds under management £367 billion (May 2005 £289 billion)
• Total net industry sales £249 million (May 2005 £479 million)
• Net retail sales £548 million (May 2005 £257 million)
• Net ISA sales £154 million (May 2005 £112 million)
   

Funds under management 
Investment funds under management of £367 billion in May saw a fall of 5% from April, in line with the fall in the stock markets, but were 27% higher than May 2005. ISA funds under management of £47 billion fell 4%, but were 18% higher than the previous year.

Graph showing funds under management since May 2005.

ISA sales 
Net ISA sales of £154 million in May were significantly less than April, following the ISA season, but were up 37% from May 2005. The most popular ISA sector in May was UK All Companies, accounting for 22% of gross ISA sales. 

Net sales by asset class 
Total net sales were £249 million with bonds accounting for inflows of £639 million. Of the £548 million net retail sales £305 million was invested in bonds, followed by £98 million in balanced funds.

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 18% of gross retail business through this channel.  

The most popular distribution channel in May was the intermediary channel representing 79% of gross retail business. Gross ISA sales of £286 million from fund supermarkets made them the dominant distributor of ISAs, followed by £253 million worth of sales through sales force/tied agents.

Best selling sector 
The Specialist sector remained the most popular net retail sector for the fourth consecutive month with inflows of £291 million, of which £264 million was invested in the sector’s property funds. Intermediaries were largely responsible for the continuation of this trend representing net retail sales of £281 million of the £291 million total (£241 million of which was property funds).  The sector with the biggest outflows  in May was the UK All Companies sector with net outflows of £204 million.

Richard Saunders, Chief Executive of the IMA commented:

“Sales in May dipped from the levels seen in the previous six months, though still well up on the same month last year.  A pause at this point in the year is not unusual in the wake of the ISA season.  Investors continue to favour property, with very little money flowing into equity funds last month.”

-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