For immediate release: Thursday 27 August 2009

INVESTMENT FUND STATISTICS July 2009

UK Domiciled funds

Funds under management 
Funds under management of UK domiciled investment funds were £412.6 billion in July 2009. This was up 6% on the previous month's figure of £390.0 billion but slightly down on July 2008's figure of £415.1 billion. UK domiciled ISA funds under management of £80.3 billion were up 5% on the previous month's figure of £76.3 billion but 6% down on the previous year.

Graph showing UK domiciled funds under management since July 2008

ISA sales   
UK domiciled investment fund ISAs saw a net inflow of £217.4 million in July 2009 which, though down on the previous month's inflow of £254.7 million, represents a substantial turnaround on the previous year's outflow of £443.1 million.

The most popular UK domiciled ISA sector in July 2009 in gross and net terms was Cautious Managed.  The Cautious Managed sector accounted for 24% of gross ISA sales.

UK domiciled net sales by asset class
Of the £2.3 billion net retail sales, £829 million went into bond funds and £711 million went in to equity funds. Net institutional sales saw an inflow of £76 million as equity funds saw an inflow of £117 million and bond funds an outflow of £111 million.

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 July 2009 was £ Corporate Bond, accounting for 13% of gross retail sales of UK domiciled funds. 92% of gross retail sales into the £ Corporate Bond sector were via the intermediary channel.

The most popular distribution channel for UK domiciled funds in July 2009 was the intermediary channel, representing 87% of gross retail business. Gross ISA sales were £765 million, with £299 million sold through fund supermarkets followed by £235 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, for the ninth month in a row, with an inflow of £466.6 million.  The sector with the biggest outflow in July was Europe Excluding UK with a net outflow of £36.6 million.

OVERSEAS FUNDS

Overseas funds under management of £21.1 billion in July 2009 were up 6% on the previous month's figure of £20.0 billion. Overseas ISA assets of £319 million were up 8% on the previous month.

Net retail sales of overseas domiciled funds in July 2009 saw an inflow of £280 million, compared to the previous month's inflow of £44.2 million and an outflow of £91.3 million the previous year. Net retail sales of overseas domiciled investment fund ISAs saw an inflow of £0.8 million in July 2009, compared to an inflow of £0.9 million the previous month and an outflow of £2.3 million in July 2008.

Summary of overseas domiciled funds - FUM and sales  

Jane Lowe, Director of Markets at IMA, commented:

"Retail sales continue to be robust, with strong inflows seen since late last year.  Corporate bonds continue to attract investors; but more recently equity fund sales have also grown and are now almost on par with bond funds."

-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