Equity funds outsold fixed income funds in each of the past four months of 2012 as assets under management in IMA funds hit a record £658bn.
However, fixed income funds still dominated retail inflows in 2012 after topping the sales charts for the first eight months of the year before the risk rally took hold.
Fixed income funds brought in £5.6bn compared to £4.5bn in 2011, while inflows to mixed asset funds more than halved compared to 2011.
The market share of equity funds continued its steady decline and it has now fallen from 73 per cent of total assets under management in 2003 to 53 per cent by the end of 2012.
Within equities, global equity funds were favoured by investors over region-specific funds, bringing in £4.1bn in 2012, while UK-focused funds saw nearly £1bn of outflows in the same period.
Sterling Corporate Bond and Sterling Strategic Bond sectors occupied the top two slots in terms of inflows last year as the Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares sector slipped to third from first in 2011.
Fund platforms took market share from direct retail sales during 2012, raising its share of gross retail sales to 45 per cent from 41 per cent in 2011, while direct channels saw its share drop from 14 per cent to 10 per cent.
