Press Release of the Day – 6th February 2020

Tracker funds climb to record £18bn inflows in 2019

In 2019, UK savers invested £15 billion into the UK retail fund market, double that of the previous year. A record £18.1 billion was placed into tracker funds in 2019, up by nearly 70% from the previous 2017 record of £10.8 billion, new analysis of industry data published today by the Investment Association (IA) shows.

The analysis from the UK retail fund market in 2019 found:

• Net retail sales and funds under management: inflows to funds of £15 billion in 2019 more than doubled from 2018’s flows of £7.2 billion, as the size of funds under management in the UK reached a new all-time-high of £1.3 trillion as of the end of 2019.
• Tracker funds: half of the £18.1 billion net retail flows into tracker funds went to equity trackers (£8.9bn), as most major stock markets performed well, particularly in the second half of 2019. This compared to £3.2 billion in outflows from active funds in 2019.
• Responsible investment funds: £1.3 billion of net retail sales flowed into responsible investment funds in the final quarter of 2019, up from £190 million in the first quarter of 2019.

Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association, said:

“Amid significant political uncertainty and challenging economic headwinds globally, the amount managed in funds on behalf of UK savers grew to new heights of £1.3 trillion. As global stock markets climbed, many savers swung heavily behind tracker funds in 2019.

“We also saw investors ramping up the hunt for funds that consider the impact of their investment strategy on the wider world, as they ploughed £1.3 billion into responsible investment funds in the final quarter of the year alone.”

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