INVESTMENT FUND STATISTICS
May 2008

UK Domiciled funds

Funds under management 
Funds under management of UK domiciled investment funds were £453.7 billion in May 2008, a slight increase on the previous month but 4% lower than May 2007.  UK domiciled ISA funds under management of £93.6 billion remained the same as the previous month and 2% lower than the previous year.

Graph showing UK domiciled funds under management since May 2007

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.

Net sales of UK domiciled investment fund ISAs saw outflows of £198.3 million in May 2008, compared to inflows of £397.3 million the previous month and outflows of £180.5 million in May 2007.

The most popular UK domiciled ISA sector in May 2008 was UK All Companies, accounting for 22% of gross ISA sales.  In net terms the most popular ISA sector was Cautious Managed with inflows of £33.3 million.

UK domiciled net sales by asset class 
Of the £653 million net retail sales £366 million was invested in bond funds.  Institutional holdings of unit trusts and OEICs saw outflows of £562 million.  Equity funds saw outflows of £768 million while bond funds saw inflows of £206 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 May 2008 was UK All Companies, representing 16% of gross retail sales of UK domiciled funds.  79% of gross retail sales into the UK All Companies sector were via the intermediary channel.

The most popular retail distribution channel for UK domiciled funds in May 2008 was the intermediary channel, representing 85% of gross retail business.  Gross ISA sales of £309 million through fund supermarkets made them the dominant distributor of ISAs, followed by £232 million through sales force/tied agents.

Best selling sector for UK domiciled funds 
The Specialist sector saw the highest inflow of UK domiciled net retail sales at £212.7 million, of which £83.1 million was through commodity funds and £57.9 million was through property funds.  The sector with the biggest outflows in May 2008 was UK All Companies with net outflows of £374.8 million.

OVERSEAS FUNDS

Overseas funds under management of £17.3 billion in May 2008 saw a 9% increase from the previous month, while overseas ISA assets of £350 million fell 4% from April 2008.

Net retail sales of overseas domiciled funds in May 2008 were £180.6 million.  Net retail sales of overseas domiciled investment fund ISAs saw outflows of £0.1 million in May 2008, compared to inflows of £6.7 million seen in April 2008.

Summary of overseas domiciled funds - FUM and sales  

Richard Saunders, Chief Executive of the IMA commented:

"May saw respectable levels of new retail investment, after the recovery in April.  But sales are still well below the levels of 2007, and investors continue to remain cautious in their choice of asset class."

-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, 0207 831 0898
Mona Patel, Head of Communications, IMA, 020 7831 0898/ 07834 089332