Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted the biggest flight from equity funds since the Brexit referendum, according to the latest Fund Flow Index from Calastone, the world’s largest funds network. UK investors withdrew a net £1.53bn of capital from their equity holdings in March, just shy of the record £1.56bn they redeemed following the UK vote to quit the EU.
Key highlights from this month’s FFI:
- Equity funds saw net outflow of £1.53bn in March, the largest outflow since July 2016
- Active decisions to sell were the main driver of outflows, rather than a buyers’ strike
- Outflows rose steadily each week in March before tailing off at the end of the month as Russia’s failure to advance became increasingly obvious and markets recovered
- Global equity funds saw the biggest outflows, but UK-focused equities were relatively protected by a heavy weighting of oil and commodity stocks
- ESG funds continued to enjoy inflows, though at lower levels
- Fixed income funds also suffered outflows – second-worst month since pandemic began
View this edition of the FFI in full
