Asset class view
- Total funds flows for the month were £13.97bn (£4.98bn, ex-money market funds).
- MFFs took most, at £8.99bn, the largest net flows for the asset class since December 2023.
Active v passive
- Long-term passive vehicles netted £5.84bn while their active equivalent saw outflows of £861m..
- Passive mutual funds saw inflows of £6.24bn, while ETFs suffered outflows of £433m..
Classifications
- Some £1.92bn flooded into Equity UK funds, with £1.26bn of this going into passive vehicles.
- The largest outflows for the month were from Bond GBP Corporates, shedding £2.23bn.
Sustainable fund flows
- Total sustainable fund flows ex MMFs for November were £1.52bn, well down on the previous month’s £6.69bn.
- Bond funds saw the largest sustainable flows, netting £825m, ahead of their conventional peers’ £662m.
Asset manager view
- BlackRock was November’s top money taker, attracting £4.71bn.
Flows by Asset Class
Three-year flows
Chart 1: Asset Class Flows, 36 Months, to November 2024 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Except for real estate, which shed £23m, all asset classes benefited from net inflows in November. Money market funds (MFFs) took most, at £8.99bn, the largest net flows for the asset class since December 2023. It was also a good month for equities (£2.73bn) and bonds (£1.49bn).
Year-to-date, therefore, total fund inflows are £27.7bn (ex-MMFs: £13.07bn). MMFs have taken £14.63bn, bonds £8.13bn, equities £4.68bn, mixed assets £2.9bn, and commodities £795m. On the negative side of the balance sheet, alternatives have suffered net outflows of £2.09bn, while real estate funds have shed £1.34bn.
Active versus Passive
Chart 2: Asset Class Flows, Active and Passive, November 2024 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Total funds flows for the month were £13.97bn (£4.98bn, ex-MMFs). Excluding MMFs, passive vehicles netted £5.84bn while active vehicles saw outflows of £861m. As referenced above, MMFs were the most successful asset class, attracting £8.99bn, dominated by active money.
Passive bond funds attracted £2.46bn over the month, as their active peers shed £978m, while passive equities saw inflows of £3.29bn as their active peers lost £568m.
Meanwhile, mixed assets’ take was split £161m to active strategies and £58m to passive, while alternatives took £134m (almost all to active), and commodities £435m, likewise, predominantly to active strategies.
ETFs and Passive Mutual Funds
Chart 3: Passive Asset Class Flows, Mutual Funds v ETFs, November 2024 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
It’s all passive mutual funds this month, as you can see from the chart above. These saw inflows of £6.24bn, while ETFs suffered outflows of £433m. The largest positive flows went to equity mutual funds, which netted £3.76bn (ETFs: -£463m), followed by bond mutual funds, which attracted £2.43bn (ETFs: £33m).
Flows by Classification
Largest inflows
Chart 4: Largest Positive Flows by LSEG Lipper Global Classification, November 2024 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Global equities posted mixed results, with US equities once again taking the lead. The US outperformed FTSE All-World, while FTSE 100, FTSE 250, Japan, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Emerging index lagged. Increased dispersion in equity returns, emphasising the importance of selectivity, according to FTSE Russell analysis.
Nevertheless, persistently high short-term rates, supported by central banks’ cautious approach to rate cuts, has meant that MMFs retain their attractions, with particularly strong inflows for the month, as Money Market GBP topped the chart, netting £8.96bn, more than reversing October’s outflows of £5.21bn.
Source: LSEG Lipper
In performance terms, while US equities continue to lead, non-US, especially emerging market and UK equities, are doing much better than in recent years. Equity UK seems to be enjoying the benefits of this. This is the second consecutive month that the classification is not only in the black, but making it into second place once again. Have investors finally become convinced of the merits of the domestic stock market? For now, at least, it seems that the answer is ‘yes’, as £1.92bn flooded into Equity UK funds, with £1.26bn of this going into passive vehicles (see table below). Remarkably, it beats Equity US, which followed with £1.47bn.
Source: LSEG Lipper
Meanwhile, Mixed Asset GBP Aggressive continues to be the sole success story for the asset class, netting £964m.
Largest Outflows
Chart 5: Largest Outflows by LSEG Lipper Global Classification, November 2024 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The largest outflows for the month were from Bond GBP Corporates (-£2.23bn), although passive vehicles for the classification netted £318m. As FTSE Russell research highlights, fixed income investors face an increasingly complex landscape, with sovereign investment grade yields converging with their corporate investment grade peers. Rising term premia in sovereign bonds reflect mounting concerns over high public debt, weakening fiscal positions, and uncertainty around monetary policy trajectories. In contrast, robust corporate balance sheets continue to underpin tighter credit spreads, highlighting resilience in the face of macroeconomic pressures. That’s going to make choices in IG credit tougher, and we may see quite a bit of volatility between relevant FI classifications as a result.
Equity Europe ex UK continues its unpopular run, with redemptions of £725m, all of this and more (£859m) from active strategies. Despite the relatively good run of UK small and mid caps, these funds saw outflows of £287m—again, most from active strategies.
In contrast to the fortunes of their Aggressive sibling, Mixed Asset GBP Balanced and Flexible funds saw combined outflows of £669m.
Sustainable Fund Flows
Chart 6: Sustainable Asset Class Flows, November 2024 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Total sustainable fund flows ex MMFs for November were £1.52bn, well down on the previous month’s £6.69bn as conventional funds netted £12bn, or £3bn excluding MMFs. Bond funds saw the largest sustainable flows, netting £825m, ahead of their conventional peers’ £662m (see table below).
Source: LSEG Lipper
Equities were consequently pushed back into second place, taking £748m for the month, well behind the £1.98bn for conventional funds. Nevertheless, they’ve taken a relatively healthy £13.78bn over 12 months.
Source: LSEG Lipper
It’s intriguing that sustainable mixed assets funds have failed to recover the growing popularity they enjoyed in the previous decade, with redemptions of £158m over the month, and £719m over 12 months.
The Sustainable Fund Flows section has a narrower and stricter focus than those which indicate some form of ESG strategy in their fund documentation—to a smaller group of sustainable funds, defined as all SFDR article 9 funds plus all Lipper Responsible Investment Attribute funds reduced to those containing indicative sustainable keywords in the fund name.
Flows by Promoter
Chart 7: Largest Positive Flows by Promoter, November 2024 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
BlackRock was November’s top money taker, netting £4.71bn, down from October’s mammoth £12.68bn. The bulk went to MMFs (£3.13bn), followed by bonds (£945m), then equities (£633m).
Source: LSEG Lipper
Legal & General comes in second, netting £3.32bn, This was broadly accounted for by MMFs (£3.06bn), then bonds (£247m)
Source: LSEG Lipper
