For immediate release: Monday 30 March 2009

INVESTMENT FUND STATISTICS
February 2009

UK Domiciled funds

Funds under management 
Funds under management of UK domiciled investment funds were £339.2 billion in February 2009, 5% down on the previous month and 23% lower than February 2008. UK domiciled ISA funds under management of £66.8 billion were 6% down on the previous month and 21% lower than the previous year.

Graph showing UK domiciled funds under management since February 2008

ISA sales   
As of April 2008 PEPs were merged into stocks and shares ISAs.  For comparison purposes, IMA ISA data for periods prior to April 2008 will combine PEPs and ISAs. This will apply to both UK and Overseas domiciled fund statistics.

UK domiciled investment fund ISAs saw a net outflow of £112.5 million in February 2009, compared to a net inflow of £2.0 million the previous month and an outflow of £179.1 million in February 2008.

The most popular UK domiciled ISA sector in February 2009 was UK All Companies, accounting for 19% of gross ISA sales.  In net terms the most popular ISA sector was Protected/ Guaranteed Funds.

UK domiciled net sales by asset class
Net retail sales were £1.2 billion. Bond funds had an inflow of £1.1 billion, while equity funds saw an outflow of £66 million. Institutional holdings of unit trusts and OEICs saw an inflow of £1.1 billion.

Graph showing net retail sales of UK domiciled funds over the last 13 months

Gross retail sales by sector and distribution channel 
The most popular sector in February 2009 was £ Corporate Bond, representing 26% of gross retail sales of UK domiciled funds. 91% of gross retail sales into the £ Corporate Bond sector were via the intermediary channel.

The most popular distribution channel for UK domiciled funds in February 2009 was the intermediary channel, representing 88% of gross retail business. Gross ISA sales of £245 million from fund supermarkets made them the dominant distributor of ISAs, followed by £193 million through sales force/tied agents.

Best selling sector for UK domiciled funds
The £ Corporate Bond was the most popular UK domiciled net retail sector with inflows of £854.8 million. The sector with the biggest outflows in February was Japan with net an outflow of £172.9 million.          

OVERSEAS FUNDS

Overseas funds under management of £13.7 billion in February 2009 saw a 10% decrease on the previous month and was 16% down on the previous year. Overseas ISA assets of £214 million increased by 6% on the previous month but were down 39% on the previous year.

Net retail sales of overseas domiciled funds in February 2009 saw an outflow of £39.0 million compared to an inflow of £55.9 million the previous month and an outflow of £22.7million the previous year. Net retail sales of overseas domiciled investment fund ISAs saw an outflow of £0.3 million in February 2009, compared to an inflow of £0.3 million the previous month and £2.4 million in February 2008.

Summary of overseas domiciled funds - FUM and sales  

-Ends-

Glossary

Detailed tables
1. Summary table 
2. UK domiciled funds under management by asset class
3. UK domiciled unit trust/OEIC sales
4. UK domiciled net sales by asset class
5. UK domiciled gross retail sales - 10 year summary
6. Overseas domiciled FUM and sales
7. Sector summary - current month
8. Retail business by sector and channel - current month
9. UK domiciled summary of best and worst selling sectors
10. UK domiciled funds under management - 13 month chart
11. UK domiciled net retail sales - 13 month chart
12. Performance of average UK domiciled 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:
Noreen Shah, Press Officer, IMA, 020 7831 0898
Mona Patel, Head of Communications, IMA, 020 7831 0898/ 07834 089332