Asset manager M&G capped off 2016 with a return to net inflows as the business saw a net £942m of retail sales in the final quarter.
The figures, released as part of parent Prudential's full-year results, showed retail and institutional net flows remained well in the red for the year as a whole. M&G saw £8bn of net outflows in 2016, £7bn of which was redeemed in the first half and £6.2bn of which came from the retail division.
Fourth quarter figures indicate a reversal in fortune, however. Richard Woolnough's £17bn Optimal Income fund was among those to have suffered the most amid the asset manager's redemptions, shedding some £9bn of assets in the 12 months to March 2016, but the fund has seen inflows return more recently.
M&G has also seen money pour in to its Global Floating Rate High Yield fund as investors seek more flexible fixed income approaches, though appetite for its equity funds remain limited.
Prudential said: "Despite continued outflows in 2016, external assets under management at 31 December 2016 were 8 per cent higher than a year ago at £137bn, benefiting from positive investment market movements, particularly in the second half of the year and a return to positive net flows for retail business in the fourth quarter of £942m."
