The Investment Management Association (IMA) has today published its monthly statistics for September 2013 which show that equity-based funds have been the top sellers for six months in a row.
Equity funds saw net retail sales of £1.3 billion in September, taking the Q3 total to £3.8 billion – the highest quarterly figure since Q2 2000.
The IMA says that equity was the best-selling asset class for the sixth successive month with net retail sales of £1.3 billion. Total net retail fund sales were £2.2 billion for the month of September - the highest since Q2 2011, with Q3 net retail sales totalling £6.3 billion – the highest since Q2 2011.
Total funds under management reached £739 billion – an increase of 17% from September 2012 and up 93% since September 2008. UK Equity Income was the best-selling IMA sector.
Daniel Godfrey, IMA chief executive, said: "In September, net retail sales once again surpassed £2 billion with equity funds still attracting the bulk of investors' money, making equity the best-selling asset class for the sixth consecutive month. Indeed, the third quarter has seen the best quarterly figure for equity fund sales since Q2 2000.
"This is partly driven by an emphasis on equity income, with IMA's UK Equity Income sector the best-selling sector in September. Mixed asset funds also continue to be popular while alternatives did well, too. Both the Property and Targeted Absolute Return sectors were among the top five selling sectors."
Property funds saw a continued increase in net retail sales for the eighth consecutive month, reaching £177 million in September 2013 – the highest level since June 2010.
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Net retail sales of fixed income funds in September (£99m compared with the 12 month rolling average of £55m) and mixed asset funds (£375m compared with the 12 month rolling average of £335m) were broadly in line with recent trends.
UK equity funds were the best-selling in September 2013 with net retail sales of £505 million – the highest since October 2006. In terms of Q3, sales reached £1.3 billion, the best figure since Q2 2001.
Global equity funds were the second best-sellers in September 2013 with net retail sales of £365 million. European equity funds were the third best-sellers with net retail sales of £240 million.
For the five fund platforms that provide data to the IMA (Cofunds, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, Skandia and Transact) net sales for September 2013 were £1.1 billion. Unwrapped products were the highest at £585 million, followed by Isas (£238 million) and Personal Pensions (£271 million). Insurance Bonds saw an outflow of £5 million.
For the same five fund platforms, funds under management as at the end of September 2013 were £154 billion, compared with £127 billion a year earlier, a rise of 22%.
In September, net sales for Isas through fund companies and five fund platforms that provide data to the IMA (Cofunds, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, Skandia and Transact) totalled £102 million, compared to an outflow of £26 million this time last year.

Equity Fund Net Retail Sales by Region Setp 2013