Investors 'upbeat on equities'

UK investors continue to favour equity funds, but still remain cautious, new industry figures suggest.

The Investment Management Association (IMA) has suggested that investors in the UK favour equities more than their European counterparts.

Net outflows from equity funds stood at one per cent in the UK at the end of last year; this compares to 6.6 per cent across the rest of Europe.

Chris Bryant, head of statistics policy at the IMA, said that despite showing a bias towards equities, UK investors are proceeding with caution.

’The research confirms that UK investors continue to give a strong weighting to equities in their fund portfolios, albeit with greater diversification compared to previous years,’ he said.

’But the fact that investors have put a smaller proportion of net investment into equity funds in recent years could be viewed as a sensible move towards a more diversified portfolio.’

The research found that a net sum of £30 million has been invested in equity funds since 2001. ADNFCR-2318-ID-19162500-ADNFCR