January blues cause investors to shun equity funds as surging coronavirus pandemic prompts tighter curbs around the world______

The vaccine-induced euphoria that saw equity funds enjoy their second-best month on record in December evaporated in January as contagious new Covid-19 variants prompted surging infection rates around the world. The latest Fund Flow Index from Calastone, the largest global funds network, showed that net inflows fell by 97.5% month-on-month to just £64.6m, no more than a rounding error in the context of busy trading volumes well above average at £21.8bn.

Key highlights from this month’s FFI:

• Equity inflows dried up in January as pandemic surged ahead
• UK and European equity funds shunned by Covid-shy investors
• Net equity fund inflows fell by 97.5% month-on-month
• Traditional active equity funds pummelled, giving up December’s inflows
• ESG boom continued
• Index funds escaped the selling, whilst ond funds enjoyed a very strong month

Download this edition of the FFI in full