Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted the biggest flight from equity funds since the Brexit referendum, according to our latest Fund Flow Index. UK investors withdrew a net £1.53bn of capital from their equity holdings in March, just shy of the record £1.56bn they redeemed following the UK vote to quit the EU.
Key highlights from this month's FFI:
- Equity funds saw net outflow of £1.53bn in March, the largest outflow since July 2016
- Active decisions to sell were the main driver of outflows, rather than a buyers’ strike
- Outflows rose steadily each week in March before tailing off at the end of the month as Russia’s failure to advance became increasingly obvious and markets recovered
- Global equity funds saw the biggest outflows, but UK-focused equities were relatively protected by a heavy weighting of oil and commodity stocks
- ESG funds continued to enjoy inflows, though at lower levels
- Fixed income funds also suffered outflows – second-worst month since pandemic began