Investment trust Isa sales up in 05, just

Full year 2005 figures published by the Association of Investment Trust Companies suggest total purchases of investment trust Isas – through trusts and their managers – increased by just 1% to £63.4m from £62.6m the previous year.

This has taken the total market capitalisation value of IT Isas to £637m as of 31 December, with IT Peps valued at £1.7bn on a similar basis.

The annual average increase in sales masks some significant market movement on a quarter-by-quarter basis however.

Sales in the last quarter of the year jumped 35% to £11.50m from £8.50m.

Between the third and fourth quarters, sales increased 8%. Financial advisers had a significant impact on choice of sectors in which to invest, the AITC’s figures further suggest.

Overall, 15% of Isa purchases went through advisers – albeit, only according to those trusts that provide data on such sales, as not all do – and of these, the most popular sector was Japanese Smaller Companies, accounting for 35% of such sales.

This contrasts with most popular sector among those who invested without advice: Global Growth, which took 24% of total fourth quarter Isa sales overall, the AITC reports. The second-most popular sector overall was Far East Ex-Japan, with 15% of overall sales over the same period.

Investments through investment trust savings schemes fell 10% through 2005, to £155.7m from £173.6m the previous year. About 8% of such sales were done through financial advisers, the AITC adds.

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