Top traded funds from The Share Centre
Andy Parsons, advice team manager at The Share Centre, lists customers' top purchased funds during October 2011 and explains why investors may have favoured them.
1. Legal & General UK Index Fund
2. Legg Mason Japan Equity Fund
3. Marlborough UK Micro-Cap Growth Fund
4. Jupiter Global Managed Fund
5. M&G Index-Linked Bond Fund
6. Newton Asian Income Fund
7. M&G European High Yield Bond Fund
8. Invesco Perpetual Monthly Income Plus Fund
9. Invesco Perpetual High Income Fund
10. BlackRock Gold & General Fund
"Pressure on the markets continued to intensify during October as investors all around the world hoped that Europe would finally awaken from its apparent slumber and take the appropriate action necessary to calm global nerves. For many onlookers, the most appropriate course of action appears to be starting up the printing presses of the ECB, but given the very diverse political make up of the European Union, it's easier said than done.
"Despite the continuing uncertainty, corporate balance sheets have never been healthier. But how they intend to eventually utilise these is still to really pan out. The options range from increasing dividend payouts, undertaking share buyback schemes or identifying potential acquisition targets. To date, action has remained relatively benign on all three counts with corporates preferring to simply hoard the cash for the time being.
"The top traded fun in October is the Legal & General UK Index tracker fund. We expect this fund to sit in our top ten funds as it is the default investment option for those who had their child trust fund voucher invested via The Share Centre and did not select their own fund.
"The second most popular fund is the Legg Mason Japan Equity fund. The region is still recovering from the devastation of the earthquake earlier in the year, yet many of the supply chain issues caused through the disruption have now been rebuilt and established, enabling the region to get back onto its feet faster than some predicted. All this said, investment within this region is not for the faint hearted.
"In third place is a fund that shows investors are prepared to accept volatility and risk by investing in the Marlborough UK Micro-Cap fund.
"Fourth and fifth place, were taken by two very differing investment opportunities. The Jupiter Global Managed fund has long been a favourite for many of our investors seeking true global diversification from a fund, whilst the M&G Index-Linked Bond fund was obviously favoured by those investors still concerned by the ongoing inflationary pressure.
"The next three funds show global diversity in investor appetite: The Newton Asian Income fund demonstrates that investors' appetite for income has stretched beyond the more traditional UK shorelines to a region of the world that will undoubtedly have significant impact on future global growth. A new entrant in seventh place, and surprising given all the economic turmoil within the region, was the M&G European High Yield Bond fund. In eighth place was a regular entrant within the top ten, the Invesco Perpetual Monthly Income Plus fund, managed by three of the industries most respected names.
"The final two places within the top ten fell to Invesco Perpetual's High Income fund, run by, quite possibly, the most widely acclaimed name within UK fund management in current times, Neil Woodford. Tenth place was taken by BlackRock Gold & General. This fund was no doubt chosen by those investors seeking the potentially safer haven of gold, albeit it should be remembered that this fund focuses on corporates involved with the precious metal."