Barclays Stockbrokers sees increase in funds traded in an ISA

Barclays Stockbrokers clients investing in funds have been making the most of the tax free benefits on offer for their investments. The UK's largest execution-only retail broker found that for the full year of 2011, over half (57%) of all clients' fund trades were placed in an ISA wrapper. This trend has continued into 2012, and the month of February saw almost half (49%) of fund purchases made in an ISA.

Funds trading by Barclays Stockbrokers clients in February 2012, increased 32% compared to the previous month and assets invested increased 44% month on month.

Of all funds purchased by clients and held in ISAs at the end of February 2012, the most popular was Aberdeen Emerging Markets A. Clients have also been increasing their holdings in the US and UK Equity Income, as HSBC American Index Retail and Invesco Perpetual High Income took second and third spots respectively. Meanwhile, BlackRock Gold & General dropped from the second top fund favoured by clients in 2011 to eighth most popular in February 2012.

Alastair Thaw, Head of Investor Product at Barclays Stockbrokers, said: "It's great to see that our clients are realising the benefits of investing in funds through tax wrappers such as our Investment Isa. Through our enhanced Funds Market offering, we're able to provide clients with the range and flexibility they are looking for in their fund investments. Our collaboration with Fidelity FundsNetwork provides investors with the widest choice of funds and we have recently announced our offering has expanded even further with investors now having access to around 2500 funds from over 90 providers, with no initial charges. Investors may also qualify for a 2012 loyalty cash bonus and have access to extensive funds research and factsheets including the Citywire Selection which provides independent insight from investment experts."