Property fund outflows jumped to £44m in March, which was more than double than the volume of February’s net selling of £20m, according to Calastone’s Fund Flow Index.
The net outflow was driven by a desire from UK investors to withdraw cash already invested, with sell orders up £21m to £152m, rather than by deterrence of new buying. Buy orders fell just £3m to £108m.
The increase in outflows from property funds reflects investor sentiment regarding other asset classes, Calastone said. March was the seventh-worst month for equity and fixed-income fund flows on Calastone’s 12-year record.
Equities suffered their 10th consecutive month of net selling, with outflows jumping by half month on month to £1.44bn. Fixed-income funds had their worst month for a year, with outflows of £535m.
Edward Glyn, head of global markets at Calastone, said: “The conflict in the Middle East represents another economic shock and the fallout in the UK could be significant. Property is sensitive to the economic cycle. Even so, outflows from funds, including property, are relatively modest given the potential extent of the damage caused by the conflict and consequent oil crisis.”
He added: “Certainly, some fund investors are voting with their feet and pulling capital out of risk assets in favour of cash. But the overall outflows are still well below the levels caused by Budget speculation – when retirees liquidated assets to beat a feared tax increase.”
In January, there had been signs of optimism as investors withdrew £51m from property funds that month, which was lower than the £60m average for the previous 12 months.
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