UK’S AILING IMAGE PROMPTS BIG SWITCH AWAY FROM UK-FOCUSED EQUITY FUNDS WHILE HIGHER YIELDS TEMPT INVESTORS INTO BONDS______

Despite the FTSE 100 recently reaching an all-time high, UK-focused equity funds nevertheless suffered their third-worst month of outflows on record in January. Investors withdrew a net £868m from their holdings, according to the latest Fund Flow Index from Calastone, the largest global funds network. For every £1 of sell orders of UK-focused funds, Calastone saw just 59p of buy orders in January – no other fund sector saw a mismatch this large, and not a single trading day saw net buying.

Key highlights from this month’s FFI:

  • UK investors sold down UK-focused funds in January despite strong market performance -outflows were third largest on record
  • UK-focused funds have suffered 20 consecutive months of outflows
  • Since 2015, investors have sold £7.3bn of UK-focused funds and bought £58.0bn of international ones
  • Global funds enjoyed inflows in January as world markets continued their rebound
  • Fixed income funds saw second highest inflow on record in January – reflecting allure of higher yields and hopes for falling inflation

View this edition of the FFI in full

View this edition of the FFI in full

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