For the second quarter running, the flexible investment sector was the most popular sector by purchases and net demand on adviser platforms, according to the latest data from the Association of Investment Companies.
Flexible investment accounted for 18% of purchases in the third quarter of 2022, up from 17% during the previous quarter. In second place was the global sector, which represented 10% of purchases, down from 13% in the second quarter.
Before the second quarter, the global sector had been the most purchased sector for the previous 20 quarters.
The flexible investment sector includes “capital preservation” investment companies such as Capital Gearing, Personal Assets and Ruffer Investment Company, as well as RIT Capital Partners, the AIC said.
As well as recording the most purchases, the flexible investment sector was also the most popular by net demand on adviser platforms.
Nick Britton, head of intermediary communications at the Association of Investment Companies, said: “In times of trouble, financial advisers and wealth managers are turning to flexible friends – those investment companies with the mandate to invest in a mix of different assets. This has driven relatively resilient demand for investment companies in the third quarter of the year, in contrast to the broader decline in platform purchases overall.”
The AIC data also showed a distinct rise in interest in the private equity sector, which jumped from 14th place to fifth by net demand in the third quarter.
Purchases of investment companies on adviser platforms totalled £334 million in the third quarter, down 7% on the previous quarter, but up 20% year-on-year.
Britton added: “There are signs of bargain-hunting in deeply discounted sectors such as property, private equity and smaller companies, which are perceived by some as offering value. The Technology and Media sector ranked seventh by net demand in the quarter, its highest ranking since the early days of the Covid pandemic.”
