UK investors could not be persuaded to invest in July despite the global stockmarket rally. Instead, they took higher share prices as an opportunity to withdraw capital from equity funds, selling a net £983m of their holdings. This was the highest outflow since September 2022 when the government’s mini-budget upset the financial-market apple cart. Furthermore, over the last three months, outflows have totalled £1.95bn, despite global stock markets rising strongly.
Key highlights from this month's FFI:
- Investors sold £983m of equity funds in July even as global stock prices continued to climb
- UK equity funds saw their 26th consecutive month of net outflows while US funds suffered their second-worst month on record
- ESG funds were hit by largest outflows on record – the third consecutive month of net selling
- Global equity funds, emerging markets and specialist technology funds bucked the trend and saw inflows
- Fixed income funds are absorbing cash as investors lock into high yields
- Strong buying of money market funds reflects even higher short-term rates and need for liquidity