Savers rush to pour their cash into investment funds
A total of 23.6bn was paid into UK-based unit trusts and open-ended investment companies (OEICs) during the 11 months to the end of November, up from 2.3bn for the same period a year earlier.
Net sales, which strip out people cashing in their investment or moving it elsewhere, reached 2.4bn during November 2009 alone, as consumers continued to show their confidence in the stock market.
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Hide AdThe Investment Management Association said it was the eighth month in a row that sales topped 2bn.
People also increased their savings in tax-fee ISAs by 2.6bn during the first 11 months of 2009, the highest level since 2002.
A total of 987m was paid into ISAs during November, the strongest month on record outside the March/April ISA season.
Once people moving their investment or cashing it in were taken into account, net ISA sales still reached 259.5m, only slightly down on October's 301.2m, when figures were boosted by the increase in the ISA allowance for the over 50s.
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Hide AdThe latest figure was also a far cry from November 2008, when people withdrew 25.2m more than they invested in ISAs during the month.
Richard Saunders, chief executive of the IMA, said: "November saw a continuation of record fund sales – with investors putting in 10 times more money in 2009 than they did in the first 11 months of 2008. It is good to see investors once again taking advantage of the benefits of ISAs after several years of net out- flows."
The total value of funds under management, including money held for institutional investors, stood at 467.3bn at the end of November, 38 per cent higher than at the end of November 2008.
The group said the huge increase reflected both the record inflows of cash into unit trusts and OEICs seen during the past year, as well as the stock market recovery, with the FTSE 100 rising from 4288 to 5191 during the period.
Equities were more popular than bonds for the third month in a row during November, with consumers investing 930m of new money, nearly five times the 187m put into bonds.