There were plenty of reasons to stay away from investments in April, but British investors prioritised their tax allowances over geopolitical volatility, with the turn of the tax year boosting flows on both sides of the deadline. Gross fund flows totalled £20bn and net flows £2.3bn. Index houses led the field with BlackRock, Vanguard and LGIM taking the top three gross flow spots, while Amundi led on net flows. Active funds account for 66% of assets, but their share of net flows has fallen to 32%.
Amundi was in pole position for net flows on the back of strong demand for its fixed income funds, as attractive real yields, a defensive investor mindset and the expectation (until recently, at least) of an interest rate cutting cycle drove a fixed income rotation. That same defensive mindset led to increased flows into RLAM and Fidelity’s cash and short duration funds among the active fund managers cohort.
Schroders topped the active net sales leaderboard. The firm, currently in the process of being acquired by Nuveen, drew flows into its actively managed portfolio services, as well as its Global Strategy, Japan Equity, Strategic Bond and Global Equity Income funds.
Bella Caridade-Ferreira, Head of Insight at FE fundinfo and Finscape Lead said: “Stock markets have so far resisted the fall-out of the Middle East war, and with the cash ISA allowance for under-65s set to halve and pensions brought into inheritance tax from April 2027, investors had every reason to maximise their allowances while they still can. It was a good month for fund managers, but how the rest of the quarter pans out remains to be seen.”
About Finscape
Finscape is FE fundinfo’s distribution intelligence tool. This is the first issue of the Finscape fund flows press release, a monthly review of the top ten asset managers by gross and net flows on platform. From Q1 2026, Finscape will publish Finscape Fundamentals, a new quarterly deep-dive available exclusively to asset management clients.
For more information, contact Bella Caridade-Ferreira, bella.caridade-ferreira@fefundinfo.com.
About FE fundinfo
FE fundinfo is a leading financial data company connecting the investment industry in the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific through a single integrated platform: Nexus. Nexus connects fragmented data across the investment product lifecycle, turning it into a strategic asset that drives cost efficiency, manages risk and enables growth. With over 30 years of expertise, FE fundinfo empowers investment professionals to streamline operations, improve client outcomes and make confident, data-driven decisions.
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