Worries about Scotland have accelerated outflows from UK equity funds this week, reports FTAdviser sister title FastFT.
According to EPFR, the funds data provider, there were $672m in outflows from the funds it tracks, in the week to Wednesday.
Capital Markets Editor Ralph Atkins reports, with Europe falling out of favour with international investors, UK funds have seen outflows since early August, but the latest weekly figure marked a significant pick-up in their pace.
However, this week’s outflows were still smaller than the £846m in outflows EPFR reported for the last week in June.
The surge in support for the Scottish Yes campaign shown in opinion polls this week has weakened the pound, reducing the value of UK shares to overseas investors, and fuelled uncertainty about UK growth prospects.
Investors have also become more concerned about weak growth in continental Europe’s biggest economies, which would also have an impact on the UK.
The news comes as a second poll has backed claims by the ‘no’ camp that it has halted Alex Salmond’s charge towards a ‘yes’ vote in next week’s Scottish independence referendum, but the result remains too close to call.
An ICM poll for the Guardian gave ‘no’ a lead of 51 to 49 following a YouGov poll on Thursday which gave the pro-union side a lead of 52 to 48.
However the ICM phone poll, which took out the ‘don’t knows’ in its forecast, said 17 per cent were still undecided with less than a week until polling day, suggesting the result is still highly unpredictable.
The polls have calmed nerves in the Better Together campaign, which feared last weekend that Mr Salmond might be building up an unstoppable momentum for independence.
The intervention of senior business figures for the ‘no’ campaign in recent days has helped to highlight the potential risks of a ‘yes’ vote.
Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister, also helped to staunch the loss of Labour supporters to ‘yes’ after he offered a tight timetable to deliver more powers to the Scottish parliament over tax and welfare.
But Mr Salmond insists momentum is still for independence and that Scots will ignore “scaremongering” by Westminster politicians.
