Investors plough record amount into tracker funds in 2019

Total retail inflows double the 2018 figure

Flows into tracker funds hit a record £18bn in 2019, double their total in the previous 12 months, as retail investors continued to fall out of love with active management.

Investment Association (IA) figures show the popularity of index funds surged in April, with inflows during that month reaching £1.7bn, more than twice that of March's total. In both May and November, inflows breached the £2bn mark. Of the total flows into passives, half, or £8.9bn, went into equity trackers, as stockmarkets pushed higher through the year. As a result of these flows, funds under management for tracker offerings hit £230bn at the end of the year. Record £2.2bn pulled from UK property funds in 2019 Meanwhile, there was also surge of interest in responsible investment...