For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter.
2001 UK Fund Performance Bleak
Overall, according to the survey by WM, it was the poorest fund showing in a decade with an 8.9% drop, a report from IPE newswire said.
Nine out of ten funds, which collectively had £423 billion in assets, ended in the minus column with showings of -5% to -14.3%, according to WM.
The year also saw a flight from equities. The average
fund followed by WM allocated 71% to equities at the
beginning of 2001 – 48% to UK issues and 23% overseas.
During the year, funds pulled out £3.5 billion, which
brought down the overall equity average to 46%.
WM said that was the lowest it has been since the
mid-1980s.
Monetary assets and index-linked assets now represent almost 20% of the average fund’s portfolio – more than double that of 10 years ago, WM said.
WM’s figures also show a considerable rise in allocations to overseas equities with an additional £12 billion committed during 2001.
Even after falling markets are taken into consideration, the allocation of 25% is the highest level recorded in the WM universe. American and Japan were the two greatest beneficiaries of this influx of cash.