PlatformsMay 14 2013

Skandia platform sees fixed income flows rise in April

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The Skandia platform has said it saw a rise in flows into UK fixed income funds in April with 21 per cent of net sales for the asset class in the month.

The platform said the move came after flows to the asset class “looked to be declining” earlier this year.

Out of the three top-10 selling funds on the platform in April, the best selling was Christine Johnson’s £448.2m Old Mutual Corporate Bond fund while Ariel Bezalel’s £1.5bn Jupiter Strategic Bond fund also featured in the top 10.

Invesco Perpetual’s £3.7bn Monthly Income Plus fund, run by Paul Causer, Paul Read and Neil Woodford, holds fixed income and equity positions and also featured.

The data from Skandia comes as Lipper last week released data on European fund flows which dealt a fresh blow to those hoping for a ‘great rotation’ from bonds to equities as sales of bond funds soared as those into equity funds plummeted.

According to Lipper, sales of bond funds across Europe reached €17.3bn (£14.6bn) in March, up by €6.4bn compared to February, while sales of equity funds dropped by €3.9bn to €5.6bn.

Emerging market debt and flexible bond funds once again dominated bond sales, while even euro-denominated bond funds have begun to see inflows pick up.

UK equities proved a particular drag on equity fund sales, suffering €1.2bn of net outflows in March.

Elsewhere, Skandia said the multi-asset sector remained the leading sector by net sales but that sales in April were more equally proportioned between the top four sectors: multi-asset, UK fixed interest, global specialist and UK equity.

First State’s Global Emerging Markets Leaders fund was the second best selling fund on the platform in April. First State announced yesterday it is set to soft-close the fund, which is run by Jonathan Asante, to new investments in September by implementing a 4 per cent initial charge.

The £16bn Standard Life Global Absolute Return Strategies came in third while Julie Dean’s £1.2bn Cazenove UK Opportunities fund was fourth. Both funds feature in the Investment Adviser 100 Club of top-performing funds.

James Millard, director of investments at Skandia, said investors appetite for equities and other risk assets remains but that it is still “too early to say the so-called great rotation is in full swing”.

“Easy monetary conditions in developed markets continue to be supportive of asset prices and investors continue to allocate accordingly, in spite of continuing soft economic growth in many markets,” he said.

“Equity income funds remain a focus reflecting the low real yields available from cash and government bonds.”

Skandia’s top-selling funds in April based on net sales
Old Mutual Corporate Bond
First State Global Emerging Markets Leaders
Standard Life Global Absolute Return Strategies
Cazenove UK Opportunities
Jupiter Strategic Bond
Artemis Global Income
Invesco Perpetual Monthly Income Plus
M&G Global Dividend
Artemis Income
Investec UK Alpha Plus