In April, UK investors withdrew £2.5 billion from equity funds.

Following £5 billion in redemptions in the first quarter, UK investors withdrew £2.5 billion from equity funds in April.

These outflows are occurring despite the UK equity market being one of the strongest in the world in 2022, according to Morningstar, which compiled the data.

In April, however, £656 billion (excluding money market funds) was added to UK-domiciled funds, with fixed-income funds outnumbering equity funds.

During the month, fixed income funds received £2.1 billion in net flows.

Passive and UK offerings drove outflows from equity funds, but sustainable funds remained popular, with £1.3 billion in inflows.

Investors preferred gilt funds the most, followed by global large-cap equity blend strategies, which attracted net inflows of £482 million and £1 billion, respectively.

In contrast, US large-cap funds were the hardest hit, with £1.1 billion in outflows, as performance in 2022 has been poor.

Vanguard recovered from outflows in February with its highest net inflows in a year in April (£719 million), while BlackRock experienced its third consecutive month of redemptions.

With 1.59 percent, Fidelity is the fastest growing company. Meanwhile, Aviva's growth rate has shrunk the most, by –1.36 percent.

While many fossil fuel stocks did well and sustainable funds did not, ESG-conscious investors were not put off, and £1.8 billion (excluding money market) was invested in these funds across asset classes.

Following a recent trend, allocation or multi-asset strategies saw more inflows.

The GBP Allocation 60-80 percent Equity sector was one of the most popular Morningstar sectors in April, with net inflows of £370 million.

By fLEXI tEAM