UK equity funds had their best month for net retail sales for six months but there was a trend towards lower volatility funds.

The Investment Association, which tallied the figures, said the £400m invested in tracker funds in the month and other indicators suggested investors remained cautious about taking risks.

Tracker funds under management stood at £225bn as of the end of November. Their overall share of industry funds under management was 18%.

UK savers overall invested £1.6bn in retail funds in November 2019, according to the figures from the Investment Association (IA).

Key data from the figures showed:

• Net retail sales into tracker funds increased by £400m compared to October, reaching £2.3 billion in November.
• UK equity funds saw their best month since May 2019, with £108m in inflows in November.
• Volatility Managed was the best-selling IA Sector in November, with £411m in net retail sales – the first time it has reached the number one position.
• The worst-selling sector was Targeted Absolute Return with an outflow of £656m

Chris Cummings, chief executive of the IA, said: “Amid the noise of the general election campaign, savers invested £1.6 billion into funds in November, with UK equity funds seeing their first inflows since May.

“Investors however maintained a keen interest in risk management, with sales of volatility managed funds reaching a new record at more than double the average monthly inflows since the sector launched at £411 million, and accounting for a quarter of all fund sales.”

Best Selling Investment Sectors - Nov 2019:

1. Volatility Managed was first with net retail sales of £411 million.

2. Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares was second with net retail sales of £299 million.

3. North America followed with net retail sales of £292 million.

4. Global Emerging Markets was fourth with net retail sales of £240 million.

5. Global was fifth with net retail sales of £166 million.

Net Retail Sales by Asset Class

Mixed Asset was the best-selling asset class in November 2019 with £1.3 billion in net retail sales. Equity was the second best-selling asset class with £530 million of inflows.Fixed Income was the third best-selling asset class with £138 million in net retail sales. All other asset classes experienced outflows, with Property experiencing outflows of £13 million.

Money Market experienced outflows of £104 million, and Other (which includes the Targeted Absolute Return, Volatility Managed and Unclassified sectors) experienced net retail outflows of £184 million. North America was the best selling equity fund region with Japan funds second best selling.

In November, gross retail sales for UK fund platforms totalled £11bn, a market share of 50%. Gross retail sales through Other UK Intermediaries including IFAs were £6 billion, a market share of 27%. Direct gross retail sales in November were £1.5 billion, a market share of 7%.