Over £79m more was invested into ISAs in April than was invested in total over the previous 12 months.

Savers invested £1.5bn into funds wrapped by ISAs in April, according to the latest data published by the Investment Association.

Total net retail sales were £6.2bn for the month.

Gross retail sales through UK intermediaries, including Financial Planners, were £7.9bn representing a market share of 23.3%.

UK Smaller Companies saw their highest inflow since the record £279m in December 2019. The Investment Association said this growth demonstrates a continued increase in investor confidence in the UK.

Chris Cummings, chief executive of the Investment Association, said: “The overall inflow to UK equities for a second consecutive month follows a sustained period of outflows and points to investor confidence continuing to grow as the UK looks to leave the pandemic economic consequences behind. In particular, the rising inflows to more domestically-focused UK Smaller Companies funds shows investors are increasingly positive that the post-Brexit UK economy will grow strongly as it opens up.”

Despite inflation concerns, sales to fixed income funds remained strong attracting £1.3bn in net retail inflows, a £230m increase on March.

Responsible investment funds saw a net retail inflow of £1.6bn in April 2021. Responsible investment funds under management stood at £72bn as of the end of April, with total inflows for the year of £13.5bn. Their overall share of industry funds under management held steady at 4.8%.

Tracker fund sales rebounded considerably over the month as net retail sales reached £2.9bn compared with sales of £626m in March.

Equity fund sales were the highest of any asset class at £2.9bn and the Investment Association’s Global sector remained the best-selling sector with net retail sales of £1.7bn.