UK companies back in favour after successful roll out of vaccine – Investment Association statistics
Q1 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
The latest set of Investment Association (IA) data tells us where investors were putting their money in March 2021.
- Savers invested £4.4 billion into funds in a month of strong inflows.
- Savers invested £472 million into funds in the UK All Companies sector and £217 million into smaller UK companies.
- Q1 2021 saw positive net retail inflows of £10 billion.
- The IA’s Global sector was the best-selling sector of Q1 with £3.6 billion inflows.
- Responsible investment funds saw a net retail inflow of £1.6 billion in March 2021, a new monthly record.
UK Companies Are Back in Favor
Kate Marshall, Acting Head of Investment Analysis at HL, said:
“UK investors are coming back round to the idea of putting their money to work on home soil, according to the latest industry data. 2020 was a tough year for the UK market, with the coronavirus taking its toll on our lives, both personally and economically, and many parts of the market staying out of favour. 2021 already looks a lot different, with investor sentiment improving on the back of a successful vaccine rollout and the lifting of lockdown restrictions. With the economy reopening, many expect to see a splurge in consumer spending and a boost to areas such as retail, banking, and even travel and leisure.
While most money has gone into larger UK companies, the recent stellar performance of some of the UK’s smallest businesses hasn’t gone unnoticed, with a pick up in flows into UK Smaller Companies funds. These often fare better when investors are in ‘risk-on’ mode and that’s exactly what we’ve recently seen.
Despite the recent change in sentiment, global funds are still taking the lion’s share of investors’ money. That said, it’s good to see investors taking an active interest in other areas, with flows spread across a range of funds and sectors.”
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