Cautious Managed sales boost on FundsNetwork

Cautious managed funds closed the gap on the top selling UK Corporate Bond sector on Fidelity FundsNetwork last month, seeing 11% of total inflows on the platform.

UK Corporate Bond was still the most popular sector, 12% of inflows, with three funds from the sector on the platform's top ten selling funds.

The top selling fund overall was the £5.1bn Invesco Perpetual Corporate Bond vehicle, managed by Paul Read and Paul Causer. It was followed by the Fidelity FundsNetwork ISA Cash Park and Neil Woodford's £8.9bn Invesco Perpetual High Income fund.

In terms of performance over the month, however, the Asia Pacific ex Japan sector led with returns of just over 9%, according to Morningstar. This was followed by Global Emerging Markets, with returns of just under 9% and European Smaller Companies at 8.5%.

Peter Hicks, head of UK retail sales at Fidelity International, says: "UK Corporate Bond remained the top selling sector in September but the Cautious Managed sector closed the gap considerably.

"Although gross sales into the Fidelity FundsNetwork ISA Cash Park were high, there was a lot of activity both in and out of the temporary cash haven in September, demonstrating the contrasting views of investors as to whether to buy into the market or not.

"Those deciding to invest in the markets did so mainly through investments in the Fidelity Multi Asset Strategic fund. In terms of performance, Asia and the Emerging Markets were the most successful geographical regions during the month and Technology and Telecoms fared best amongst the individual sectors."