The demand for retail investment products has soared to a six-year high in the first quarter, reflecting a renewed confidence in stock market returns, according to the Investment Management Association (IMA).
The IMA said that sales of equity ISAs increased by 29% in March compared to last year, reaching GBP576 million. Net retail sales in investment products for the first quarter increased to GBP4.6 billion, the highest quarter since Q2 2000.
Richard Saunders, chief executive of the IMA said: In terms of net retail sales, March 2006 and the first quarter of this year were the best for six years. In addition, the ISA season was the strongest since 2002. This confirms that retail investors have continued to return to the market.
The most popular ISA sector was UK All Companies, accounting for 21% of gross inflows.