Pep sales in 1998 increased by 18 per cent to a record £11bn according to the Association of Unit Trusts and Investment Funds.
Autif's latest quarterly figures show that net Pep sales in December rose by 38 per cent in 1998 to £368m bringing total Pep sales for the year to £7.7bn.
During the fourth quarter regular plan sales reached £451m which represented 24 per cent of the £1.9bn of Pep sales in this period.
This was a 41 per cent increase on 1997 and an 8 per cent increase on the third quarter of 1998.