A spokesperson for TD Waterhouse said that trading volumes in April had been 42 per cent above an undisclosed benchmark and last week this had increased to 138 per cent above the same daily benchmark. On 11 May, trading had been 50 per cent above expected levels.
However, while equity investors swarm back into the market, fund investors will return more slowly if past statistics from the Investment Management Association (IMA) are relevant to the current situation.
But a repeat of the slow up-take seen in 2003 will happen again in 2009. The latest statistics from the IMA show fund investors being quicker to the mark with retail cash returning to the market faster than in 2003. According to the latest IMA figures March sales were £445m, up from -£8m in February and -£228m in January.
The speed at which retail investors returned to the market in 2003 is shown by the IMA's 2003/2004 quarterly figures. These show a quick turn around of sentiment with money coming back into equities funds but the build-up of momentum was slow with a peak of interest coming a year after the turn around in the first quarter of 2004.
Net quarterly sales of equity fund sales for 2003/4
| Q1 2003 |
£36m |
| Q2 2003 |
£869m |
| Q3 2003 |
£959m |
| Q4 2003 |
£1.14bn |
| Q1 2004 |
£1.34bn |
Source: IMA
Philip Rodrigs, manager of Investec UK Smaller Companies Fund, said that March 2003 was the last time that UK markets experienced a similar shaped decline and recovery. Rodrigs, like a number of other commentators, believes that the stockmarket has passed its low point.
The monthly figures below emphasise the lag before the majority of investors returned to the market. They show a peak in August and then again in December 2003. Meanwhile, the early indications from 2009 are that investors are returning to the market faster. figures also show a
Rodrigs said that although there is a lag, the response of fund investors was quicker than he expected even in 2003: "From 2003 it is interesting to see that retail flow is quite rapid to turn positive post bottom so naturally the investment industry will be hoping the same effect is seen this time round."
He points out that the weak September 2003 month coincides with a wobble in the market at the same time.
Net monthly sales of equity fund sales for 2003
| January 2003 |
-36,406,962 |
| February 2003 |
-100,946,146 |
| March 2003 |
190,282,835 |
| April 2003 |
334,793,789 |
| May 2003 |
204,528,469 |
| June 2003 |
332,418,821 |
| July 2003 |
353,355,943 |
| August 2003 |
433,847,887 |
| September 2003 |
172,079,696 |
| October 2003 |
293,842,409 |
| November 2003 |
299,103,371 |
| December 2003 |
553,094,004 |
However the most recent statistics
Source: IMA
On March 12 2003, the FTSE 100 hit a 3,287 point low before launching into a prolonged bull market which officially ended at the beginning of last year. By December 2003, the FTSE 100 had added 37.21 per cent. Over the same period the FTSE 250 had added 52 per cent as had the UK Small Cap index and the FTSE All-Share had added 38 per cent.
Performance of the FTSE All Share over the past 15-years
Source: Financial Express Analytics
Trustnet data shows investors looking at these funds over the past month.
| Rank | Factsheet |
|---|---|
| 1 | Invesco Perp High Income |
| 2 | JPM Natural Resources |
| 3 | Invesco Perp Income |
| 4 | Invesco Perp Corporate Bond |
| 5 | BlackRock UK Abs Alpha |
Source: Trustnet.com