BRITISH SAVERS IN THE US

BRITISH SAVERS are pumping money into American stocks through unit trusts and pension funds.

In July, the UK unit trust industry's US holdings stood at pounds 9.6bn. The top three US unit trusts alone have more than pounds 1.5bn under management.

In the year to July, UK small savers bought over pounds 708m worth of units in North American trusts and UK institutions another pounds 2.1bn. All North American trusts have suffered from recent events in Washington. But, as the table below shows, some have suffered much more than others.

Performance of North America unit trusts over three months to August 28, 1998. Initial investment: pounds 1,000. Source: `MoneyFacts'