Absolute return funds top December sales, IMA stats
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Absolute return was the best selling Investment Management Association sector in December, and the second best seller for the whole of 2009.
According to the IMA, which published last year’s figures for the fund management industry today, total net retail sales for the absolute return sector in 2009 hit £2.55 billion.
With net retail sales of £511m for the month of December, absolute return just beat property (£510m), which topped the sales charts the two previous months.
“The sector only launched in April 2008 but has seen steady inflows every month, except for October,” says Richard Saunders, the chief executive of the IMA.
With total net retail sales of £5.97 billion, the £ corporate bond sector was the most popular throughout 2009. Some 23 per cent of the investments made in 2009 went into sterling corporate bonds.
Property was the fourth most popular sector overall for the year-a “dramatic reversal” from 2008 when the sector suffered net outflows of £466m.
“The last quarter saw very strong inflows,” says Saunders. “But it is still dwarfed by equity and absolute return.”
With £25.8 billion of net retail sales, fund sales in 2009 were the highest since records began in 1992. In 2008, net retail sales were £3.8 billion. As funds under management reached £480.8 billion by the end of December, the year marked also the highest amount of funds under management.
The IMA says property comprise 2 per cent of funds under management-a ten-fold increase on 1999. The majority of funds under management are with 61 per cent (£293.1 billion) still equities, although this has fallen from 83 per cent over the past 10 years. Bonds have increased from 8 per cent of funds under management to 20 per cent.
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