Hopes that Omicron’s impact will be less severe than past waves swept a flurry of optimism through UK investors in December. Savers added £1.0bn in new cash to their equity holdings during the month, taking the 2021 net inflow to a record £14.2bn. In 2015, the last high point, inflows reach £11.6bn.
Key highlights from this month's FFI:
- December equity fund inflows doubled month-on-month to £1.0bn
- Record £14.2bn inflow to equity funds in 2021
- Global funds and emerging markets were the big winners in 2021
- UK-focused funds were the least popular category in 2021, suffering £1.1bn outflows
- Bond funds saw strongest inflows since 2016 – months with negative pandemic news were big drivers of inflows
- Property suffered third consecutive year of outflows