Sales of investment trusts via platforms to advisers and wealth managers over the first three quarters of 2015 were 55 per cent higher compared to the 2014 figure according to new data.
The statistics from Matrix Financial Clarity and published by the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) revealed that investment company purchases reached £549m, which also represents a 241 per cent increase in comparison with the pre-Retail Distribution Review (RDR) levels in the first nine months of 2012 (£161.2m).
Q3 2015 also saw investment trust purchases on adviser platforms increase by 26 per cent from the figure recorded the year before to £146m – the second highest quarter on record.
In Q2, 2015 purchases of investment companies spiked at £270.9m, which the AIC claims was partly driven by the launch of Woodford Patient Capital. As a result, Q3 2015 investment company purchases were down 46 per cent on Q2.
Total purchases of all products through adviser platforms decreased from a record high of £26.8bn in Q2 to £25.3bn in Q3 2015.
Ian Sayers, chief executive of the AIC, said: “It’s very positive to see such strong adviser demand for investment trusts in the first nine months of 2015, with purchases significantly up on 2014 and an impressive 241 per cent higher than pre-RDR levels. We believe RDR has been an important reason behind this increase in investment company purchases, removing a source of bias and raising standards of advice.
The AIC said it was due to launch a series of interactive workshops on investment trusts this year.
Adviser view
Jon French, IFA at Kent-based AW Financial Management, said: “I guess part of the increase in investment trusts over three quarters in 2015 is driven by costs. We do not use them ourselves unless our DFM chooses to do so because it adds volatility.”
