Investment ISA sales 'highest in six years'

The Investment Management Association (IMA) have revealed that last month, investment ISA net sales reached £247million, marking the highest quarterly ISA sales seen in six years.

ISA sales are not the only investment products that have seen an increase in activity, as net investment fund sales hit the highest levels ever recorded, amounting to £7.4bn between April and June 2009, over three times more than the £2.3bn recorded for the same period last year.

Equity funds saw a significant increase after sales flew up from £190m in the first quarter to £2.5bn in the final quarter, indicating a come-back for investment risk.

Meanwhile, bond funds were overtaken by equity fund investments last month for the first time since last November last year. However, corporate bonds continued to be the most popular investment sector throughout June.

Richard Saunders, chief executive of the IMA commented on the statistics: "Retail investors have begun over the last two months to put money into equity funds, particularly international equities, as well as bond funds. As a result, net retail sales in the second quarter were the highest on record and net investment ISA sales the highest for six years."

These recent investment trends have also been found in fund supermarket Interactive Investor. Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment, said: "Retail investors trading direct continue to invest successfully in emerging markets and global growth. This follows a protracted period when corporate bonds were the best sellers, which means that some consumers will have missed out on some aggressive equity market rallies."