Unit trusts drop 261m pounds in September

UNIT TRUSTS suffered net disinvestment of pounds 261m in September, a move that the Unit Trust Association blamed on 'technical' factors including a life insurance company switching pounds 500m into direct equity investment, writes Paul Durman.

The UTA suggested that the 'true' net sales were pounds 259m, a substantial improvement on August's pounds 59m. Private investors accounted for pounds 48m of net new investment, with the remainder coming from institutions.

The figures reveal the continuing surge in investment in unit trusts through the tax shelter of personal equity plans. Net sales of unit trust PEPs in the third quarter amounted to pounds 319m, more than twice last year's pounds 141m. PEP investment has traditionally been concentrated in the first half of the year, but the Government's lifting of the amount that PEPs can invest in unit trusts has transformed the market.