For immediate release: Thursday 28 August 2008

INVESTMENT FUND STATISTICS
July 2008

UK Domiciled funds

Funds under management 
Funds under management of UK domiciled investment funds were £414.3 billion in July 2008, 3% lower than the previous month and 10% lower than July 2007. UK domiciled ISA funds under management of £84.5 billion were 3% down compared to the previous month and down 7% from July 2007.

Graph showing UK domiciled funds under management since July 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 £412 million in July 2008, compared to outflows of £209.9 million the previous month and outflows of £125.1 million in July 2007.

The most popular UK domiciled ISA sector in July 2008 was UK All Companies, accounting for 21% of gross ISA sales.  In net terms the most popular ISA sector was Cautious Managed.

UK domiciled net sales by asset class 
Net retail sales saw a £491 million outflow overall.  Equity funds saw an outflow of £669 million while there was an inflow of £334 million into the ‘other' category, driven by absolute return funds. Institutional holdings of unit trusts and OEICs saw an overall outflow of £1.9 billion. This included a £1.4 billion outflow from bond funds.

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 2008 was UK All Companies, representing 20% of gross retail sales of UK domiciled funds. 76% of gross retail sales into the UK All Companies sector were via the intermediary channel.

The most popular distribution channel for gross retail sales of UK domiciled funds in July 2008 was the intermediary channel, at 85%. Gross ISA sales of £257 million from fund supermarkets made them the dominant distribution channel for ISAs, followed by £216 million through sales force/tied agents.

Best selling sector for UK domiciled funds
The Absolute Return sector was the most popular UK domiciled net retail sector with inflows of £232 million. Property funds saw net retail outflows of £76.5 million.  The sector with the biggest net retail outflows in July 2008 was the Europe Excluding UK sector with a net outflow of £332.1 million.

OVERSEAS FUNDS

Overseas funds under management of £18.2 billion in July 2008 saw an 11% increase from the previous month, while overseas ISA assets of £303 million fell from the £304 seen in June 2008.

Net retail sales of overseas domiciled funds in July 2008 saw outflows of £91.3 million. Net retail sales of overseas domiciled investment fund ISAs saw outflows of £2.3 million in July 2008, compared to outflows of £1.9 million in June 2008.

Summary of overseas domiciled funds - FUM and sales  

Jane Lowe, Director of Markets at IMA commented:

"With the FTSE once more under pressure in July, investors again withdrew from equity funds, with many turning to investment in absolute return funds.  Total funds under management were also down during the month, by 2.6%, in part owing to poor market performance."

-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, 07834 089332