Equity funds suffered net outflows of £1.13bn in July, up from outflows of £98m in June. July’s outflows were the largest from equity funds since the infamous Truss Mini-Budget in September 2022 with the exception of October 2024 when there was a bout of profit crystallisation followed by immediate reinvestment ahead of feared Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rises.
Key highlights from this month's FFI:
- UK investors withdrew £1.13bn from equity funds in July – the second-largest monthly outflow since the Truss mini-budget of 2022.
- The outflows were largely driven by bearish sentiment toward US stocks, seen as overvalued and concentrated in a few tech giants, with both global and North American funds hit hard.
- Europe-focused funds stood out with £280m in net inflows, benefiting from rotation away from US-heavy peers.
- A marked drop in buy orders for passive equity funds (especially US-weighted index funds) drove the outflows, despite continued preference for passives over actives overall