For immediate release: Monday 29 September 2008

INVESTMENT FUND STATISTICS
August 2008

UK Domiciled funds

Funds under management 
Funds under management of UK domiciled investment funds were £426.5 billion in August 2008, an increase of 3% on the previous month and 7% down on August 2007. UK domiciled ISA funds under management of £86.8 billion were up 3% on the previous month and 4% lower than the same month the previous year.

Graph showing UK domiciled funds under management since August 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 funds within ISAs saw outflows of £281.9 million in August 2008, compared to outflows of £412 million the previous month and outflows of £162 million in August 2007.

The most popular UK domiciled ISA sector in August 2008 was UK All Companies, accounting for 21% of gross ISA sales.  In net terms the most popular ISA sector was Guaranteed Protected Funds.

UK domiciled net sales by asset class
Of the £90 million net retail sales £251 million was invested into the ‘other' category, driven by absolute return funds. Equity funds saw an outflow of £344 million.  Institutional holdings of unit trusts and OEICs saw outflows of £772 million with equity funds accounting for outflows of £933 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 August 2008 was UK All Companies, representing 17% of gross retail sales of UK domiciled funds. 78% of gross retail sales into the UK All Companies sector were via the intermediary channel.

The most popular distribution channel for UK domiciled funds in August 2008 was the intermediary channel, representing 87% of gross retail business. Gross ISA sales of £198 million from fund supermarkets made them the leading distributor of ISAs, followed by £187 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 £150.3 million. Property funds saw net retail outflows of £42.4 million.  The least popular sector in August 2008 was the Europe Excluding UK sector with net retail outflows of £143 million.

OVERSEAS FUNDS

Overseas funds under management of £18.5 billion in August 2008 saw a slight increase from the previous month, while overseas ISA assets of £317 million saw an increase of 5% from the previous month.

Net retail sales of overseas domiciled funds in August 2008 saw outflows of £37.6 million. Net retail sales of overseas domiciled investment funds within ISAs saw inflows of £1.2 million in August 2008, compared to outflows of £2.3 million seen the previous month.

Summary of overseas domiciled funds - FUM and sales  

Richard Saunders, Chief Executive of the IMA commented:

-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