Asset managers who struggled to attract money last year received a glimmer of hope in March, as the top 10 funds by net inflows brought in the highest monthly sum so far in 2017.
The most popular 10 vehicles on a net flow basis attracted more than £4bn, according to Morningstar estimates.
While the figures are no guarantee that the funds industry as a whole saw an uptick in interest, they represent a significant improvement from the £3.5bn and £2.6bn attracted by the top 10 sellers in February and January respectively.
In 2016 UK retail investors put just £4.7bn into funds on a net basis, according to the Investment Association, down significantly from 2015’s level of £16.8bn.
Continued investor nerves are apparent from the make-up of March’s top 10. M&G’s Global Floating Rate High Yield fund topped the list with net inflows of £643m.
The product has been popular at a time of increased trepidation about rising interest rates and was among the top five best-selling funds in the previous two months.
Invesco Perpetual’s Global Targeted Returns product also continued its long stay in the top 10.
The list featured a number of new names. Two BlackRock fixed income passive products – tracking the index-linked gilt and corporate bond markets respectively – took second and third place.
The full list of flows will be published in next week’s issue of Investment Adviser.
