Industry figures suggest fall in investor redemptions

Redemptions on equities ISAs have fallen - as private bank investors wait and see if the stock markets are on the road to recovery.

This is the main finding from new analysis from Bestinvest, a financial website.

An expert from the site pointed out the fact that, in recent figures from the Investment Management Association (IMA), there was a marked disparity between gross and net ISA sales for March.

Gross sales notched up a 6.68 per cent annual rise, while net sales of ISAs from private banking services clients and other customers were up by 74 per cent year on year - suggesting a corresponding sharp fall in redemption numbers.

This drop coincided with a rally on global financial markets, with the FTSE climbing throughout March on hopes that the economy was beginning to turn the corner following a sharp decline in output.

Adrian Lowcock, senior investment advisor at Bestinvest, explained: ’What the [IMA] net figures show, because that has risen so much compared to last year, is we are seeing an easing off of the redemptions. ISAs haven’t actually been cashed in as much.’

He added: ’I think the reason for that is that the markets have settled down a little bit, albeit at a lower level, and people are not rushing to cash in – they are waiting to see what will happen.’ADNFCR-2318-ID-19155253-ADNFCR