Assets in passive funds have reached a record level of £71.7bn according to the latest monthly sales figures from the IMA.
A net £352m was put into tracker funds by retail investors in July, the IMA said, taking the passive sector’s share of overall assets run by IMA members to 9.6 per cent. A year ago passive funds had a 7.8 per cent market share.
In total a net £2.2bn was invested by retail investors in July, the most since April 2011. The IMA Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares sector was the top-selling sector with net retail inflows of £291m. The IMA UK Equity Income sector took second place with £283m of net new money.
Investors poured £140m into property funds in July, the highest level of net inflows into the sector in three years. The IMA Property sector, which includes both direct property and property equity products, was the fifth best selling sector - the first time it has made the top five in two years.
Investors have so far this year invested £639.1m into this sector as house prices have risen and property-related equities have rallied, boosted chiefly by the government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme.
