In April, UK investors withdrew £482 million from European funds.

According to the Investment Association, UK investors withdrew £482 million from European funds in April, while £678 million poured into global equity income vehicles (IA).

The global equity income sector was the most popular over the month, as investors sought dividends amid stock price volatility.

According to IA data, total flows into investment funds reached £553 million in April, following £3.5 billion in outflows the previous month.

According to the IA, retail fund sales were boosted in April by "Isa season," as savers allocated £683 million to the tax-efficient wrapper, following a record first quarter for outflows of £7.1 billion.

Following interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England in March, investors began to exit fixed income.

In April, investment outflows from fixed income vehicles totaled £18 million, compared to £3.3 billion in March.

In April, incoming funds to responsible investment funds increased by nearly 30%, to $1.2 billion, up from £935 in March.

UK All Companies was the worst performing sector for the month, with outflows totaling £486 million.

Mixed asset funds were the best seller in terms of asset classes, with net sales reaching £576 million.

Other funds, such as targeted absolute return and volatility managed funds, received £457 million in inflows.

Money market fund outflows increased to £22 million, while equity outflows totaled $435 million.

Savers returned to the fund market in April as we saw inflows boosted by ISA season. Although inflows to Isa wrappers, based on IA data, were half those of 2021, they were still the third strongest in the last five years," said Miranda Seath, head of market insight at the IA.

"The IA Global Equity Income sector became the top-selling IA sector for the first time in April. This was not just driven by investors looking for alternative sources of income. As the outlook for equity growth weakens, investors have looked for funds investing in companies that pay good dividends consistently to top up the overall returns equity investors receive."

By fLEXI tEAM