Asset class
- Net inflows for March 2026 were £1.11bn, up from the previous month’s £149m
- Mixed-assets funds were the clear winners over both March and YTD, attracting £2.75bn over the month
Active v passive
- Passive flows were positive for the month (+£2.23bn) while active funds saw redemptions of £1.12bn
- Despite overall negative flows, equity funds were the primary driver of passive demand, attracting £1.47bn
Classifications
- Mixed Asset GBP Aggressive – Global led flows in March, attracting £3.04bn
- Equity Europe ex UK followed with inflows of £1.83bn, as UK investors seem to warm to Continental equities
Asset manager
- Royal London led sales, attracting £4.79bn. This was driven primarily by equity (+£2.48bn) and bond (+£1.20bn)
Flows by Asset Class
Three-Year Flows
Chart 1: Asset Class Flows, 36 Months, to March 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Looking at the chart above, you might think it was business as usual in the world. Yes, equities have suffered redemptions over March (-£2.79bn), but they have for 23 of the 36 months covered in chart 1, and nine out of the past 12 months. Risk assets are in positive territory for the month (+£1.11bn), which is way ahead of the 12-month average of -£4.07bn, where the huge equity outflows of July 2025 (-£34.467bn) and October 2025 (-£22.24bn) weigh heavy on the figures.
What’s interesting is the rising proportion of alternatives and mixed assets funds over the past few months, particularly the former. Alternatives attracted £928m over March: their highest take over the 36 months, and have been broadly trending upwards from negative territory over the past year. Mixed assets in March (+£2.75bn) also comfortable beat their 36-month average of +£362m.
Active versus Passive
Chart 2: Asset Class Flows, Active and Passive, March 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Net inflows for March 2026 were £1.11bn, driven entirely by passive demand (+£2.23bn) while active funds saw redemptions of £1.12bn. Excluding MMFs, total flows were slightly higher (+£1.13bn), with active outflows of £1.51bn offset by £2.63bn into passive products.
Mixed-assets funds were the clear winners over the month, attracting £2.75bn, almost entirely into active strategies (£2.61bn), with only modest passive participation (£0.14bn). Alternatives also saw strong demand, gathering £0.93bn, again overwhelmingly active. By contrast, equity flows remained firmly negative (-£2.79bn), though this masked a pronounced rotation from active to passive products. Active equity funds shed £4.26bn, while passive vehicles attracted £1.47bn.
Bond flows were marginally negative (-£16m), but similarly showed a clear divergence between segments, this time running in the opposite direction, with £388m into active funds more than offset by £404m of passive redemptions. The market doesn’t seem to be able to make its mind up as the whether it prefers passive or active fixed income at the moment, as February was strongly active-to-passive, while January the reverse.
MMFs recorded modest net outflows (-£6m), though this again reflected opposing trends, with £711m redeemed from active funds and £705m allocated to passive vehicles—something of a surprise in an asset class generally perceived to be the domain of the active manager. Elsewhere, commodities saw small net inflows (+£92m), driven by passive demand +(£132m) despite active outflows (-£40m), while “other” assets gathered £187m, entirely via passive products. Real estate remained under pressure, posting £36m of net redemptions, all from active funds.
Chart 3: Asset Class Flows, Active and Passive, YTD 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
YTD flows to the end of March 2026 show overall net outflows of £1.69bn, driven by £3.23bn of active redemptions, partially offset by £1.54bn of passive inflows. Excluding MMFs, net outflows were slightly lower, at £1.46bn.
Mixed-assets funds saw the largest inflows, attracting £4.54bn, almost entirely into active strategies (+£4.25bn), underlining their continued role as the primary destination for investor allocations. Alternatives also posted solid inflows of £1.74bn, again overwhelmingly active, reinforcing the broader preference for active management outside of core asset classes.
By contrast, equities dominate the negative side of the ledger, with £6.78bn of net outflows. This was heavily skewed towards active funds, which shed £9.14bn, while passive vehicles attracted £2.36bn, indicating a strong and persistent rotation from active to passive equity exposure.
Bond flows were also significantly negative (-£1.53bn), driven entirely by passive redemptions (-£2.07bn), while active bond funds saw inflows of £539m, marking a notable reversal in the active–passive dynamic versus equities.
MMFs gathered £298m overall, though this masked a divergence between £386m of active outflows and £684m of passive inflows, suggesting a potential shift towards passive liquidity management in what has historically been an asset class dominated by active management.
Meanwhile, commodities saw modest inflows of £152m, split broadly evenly between active and passive products, while “other” asset classes added £118m, entirely via passive vehicles. Real estate remained under pressure, with £230m of outflows, all from active funds.
ETFs and Passive Mutual Funds
Chart 4: Passive Asset Class Flows, Mutual Funds v ETFs, March 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Passive products gathered £2.23bn in March, with flows heavily skewed towards mutual funds (+£3.14bn), while ETFs saw net outflows (-£911m).
Despite overall negative flows, equity flows were the primary driver of passive demand, attracting £1.47bn. However, this headline figure conceals a sharp divergence between vehicles: mutual funds took in £2.35bn, whereas ETFs experienced £881m of redemptions.
Money market funds also saw notable inflows (+£705m), again predominantly via mutual funds (+£650m), with ETFs contributing a more modest £55m.
Elsewhere, flows were smaller in scale. Mixed-assets funds added £140m, entirely through mutual funds, while commodities gathered £132m, exclusively via ETFs (+£133m), pointing to a preference for exchange-traded exposure in that segment. “Other” passives recorded £187m of inflows, all through ETFs, while alternatives remained broadly flat at £4m, with £6m of ETF buying.
Fixed income was the only segment to see net passive outflows (-£404m), driven by ETF redemptions (-£411m), while mutual funds were broadly flat (£7m).
Chart 5: Passive Asset Class Flows, Mutual Funds v ETFs, YTD 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Passive products have attracted £1.54bn year to date, though this masks a clear divergence between vehicles: ETFs accounted for the entirety of net inflows (+£1.84bn), while passive mutual funds saw net redemptions (-£0.3bn).
Equities remain the dominant destination for passive allocations, gathering £2.36bn overall. Unlike the monthly pattern, flows were positive across both structures, with £2.05bn into mutual funds and a further £313m into ETFs.
MMFs also contributed meaningfully (£0.68bn), split across mutual funds (£0.55bn) and ETFs (£0.14bn), suggesting continued use of passive vehicles for liquidity management.
Mixed-assets funds added £0.30bn, entirely via mutual funds, while commodities saw inflows of £0.15bn, exclusively through ETFs. Similarly, “other” asset classes gathered £0.12bn, also fully concentrated in ETFs, suggesting the role of exchange-traded structures in more specialised exposures. Alternatives were largely flat at £4m, through ETFs.
Fixed income stands out as the principal drag on passive flows, with net outflows of £2.07bn. This was driven by redemptions from mutual funds (-£3.19bn), partially offset by £1.12bn of inflows into ETFs, indicating a potential shift in how investors are accessing bond markets.
Flows by Classification
Chart 6: Largest Positive and Negative Flows by LSEG Lipper Global Classification, March 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Mixed Asset GBP Aggressive – Global led flows in March, attracting £3.04bn, almost entirely into active strategies (+£3bn), with only minimal passive participation. This scale of inflow stands well above the rest of the peer group, indicating a highly concentrated allocation.
Equity Europe ex UK followed with inflows of £1.83bn, though notably this was driven by active demand (+£1.93bn), partially offset by passive outflows (-£0.10bn). This was the second positive month for the classification, following a negative January.
Money Market EUR also saw strong buying interest at £0.71bn, entirely via passive vehicles. This is something of an oddity, as euro MMFs don’t normally appear in UK investors’ shopping baskets to any significant degree. The passive allocation makes it even more peculiar. We suspect this is a blip rather than a trend, but would be fascinated to be proven wrong. Conversely, Money Market GBP suffered redemptions of £0.59bn, almost entirely from active funds.
Fixed income exposures were mixed. Bond Global GBP gathered £0.65bn, supported by active inflows (+£1.15bn) despite passive redemptions (-£0.50bn). Similarly, Bond Global Corporates USD added £0.47bn, with flows skewed towards passive products (+£0.37bn). Bond JPY also featured among the top gainers, with £0.38bn, entirely passive.
Emerging market equities continued to attract capital, with Equity Emerging Markets Global taking in £0.55bn, driven by active strategies (+£0.63bn) alongside modest passive outflows (-£0.08bn). The classification was the second-most popular in January, and fourth in February.
On the negative side, Equity Global saw the largest redemptions at £2.72bn, reflecting heavy active outflows (-£3.61bn) that were only partially offset by passive inflows (+£0.88bn). Bond Global Corporates GBP also experienced substantial outflows (£1.24bn), with both active (-£1.03bn) and passive (-£0.22bn) components contributing.
UK-focused equities remained under pressure, with Equity UK seeing £0.54bn of outflows, driven by active redemptions (-£0.87bn) despite some passive support (+£0.33bn), while Equity UK Small & Mid Cap lost £0.35bn. Equity Asia Pacific ex Japan also saw withdrawals of £0.51bn, despite the decent performance of this market of the medium term.
Chart 7: Largest Positive and Negative Flows by LSEG Lipper Global Classification, YTD 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Mixed Asset GBP Aggressive – Global remains the largest recipient of flows year to date, gathering £2.62bn, almost entirely via active allocations (+£2.58bn). Mixed Asset GBP Balanced – Global follows closely with £2.34bn, also overwhelmingly active (+£2.32bn), reinforcing the persistent demand within mixed-asset solutions.
Equity Emerging Markets Global is the most popular equity classification, attracting £2.20bn, driven by active strategies (+£2.27bn) despite modest passive outflows (-£0.08bn) and the general active-to-passive rotation in the asset class, YTD. Government bond exposure has also been in favour, with Bond GBP Government taking in £1.84bn, again predominantly active (+£1.75bn).
Equity Europe ex UK has gathered £1.69bn, supported by active inflows (+£1.79bn) alongside limited passive redemptions
(-£0.10bn). The classification was oft touted as the alternative to US equities last year, but UK investors shunned their granola. Are they now warming to the Continental breakfast?
Bond Global Corporates USD was the most popular fixed income classification, adding £0.75bn, split broadly 50/50 between active and passive demand, followed by Bond Global GBP (+£0.55bn: +£1.05bn active/-£0.5bn passive).
On the negative side, Bond GBP Corporates stands out with the largest redemptions at £3.38bn, with both active (-£3.53bn) and passive (+£0.14bn) components contributing, though the bulk of the pressure remains on active funds.
Bond Global USD also experienced significant outflows of £2.91bn, reflecting active redemptions (-£2.57bn) partially offset by passive inflows (+£0.34bn). Equity UK follows with £2.46bn of outflows, driven by sustained selling of active strategies (-£2.78bn) despite some passive support (+£0.33bn).
Global equities saw withdrawals of £2.08bn, again characterised by heavy active outflows (-£2.96bn) alongside passive inflows (+£0.88bn), continuing the rotation trend observed across equity markets.
Further down the table, Equity Asia Pacific ex Japan (-£1.25bn), while Equity UK (-£2.46bn, despite £0. 33bn of passive inflows) Equity UK Income (-£1.15bn) and Equity UK Small & Mid Cap (-£0.94bn) reflect ongoing pressure on domestically focused equity segments.
In sector terms, Equity Sector Gold & Precious Metals (-£0.66bn) and Equity Sector Information Technology (-£0.55bn) are indicative of market falls in these areas.
Flows by Promoter
Chart 8: Largest Positive Flows by Promoter, March 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The top 10 promoters gathered a combined £15.58bn in March, with flows heavily concentrated at the top of the ranking.
Royal London led by a wide margin, attracting £4.79bn. This was driven primarily by equity (+£2.48bn) and bond (+£1.20bn) allocations, alongside a significant contribution from money market funds (+£1.23bn).
Amundi ranked second with £2.71bn of inflows, largely attributable to equities (+£1.75bn), alongside bonds (+£0.25bn), and MMFs (£0.71bn), while Santander followed with £2.34bn, concentrated in mixed-assets (£2.36bn).
Insight gathered £1.21bn, supported by money market inflows (£1.29bn), which outweighed small outflows from alternatives
(-£0.03bn) and mixed-assets (-£0.06bn). Titan Wealth recorded £1.14bn, with a more diversified profile across bonds (£0.42bn), equities (£0.52bn), and alternatives (£0.11bn).
Among the remaining promoters, State Street and Northern Trust both benefited from money market allocations (£0.73bn and £0.46bn, respectively), while Ninety One’s £0.56bn was primarily equity-driven (£0.54bn) with minor mixed-asset (-£0.02bn) movements.
Chart 9: Largest Positive Flows by Promoter, YTD 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Vanguard leads promoter flows year to date, gathering £3.01bn, driven primarily by equity allocations (+£2.52bn) alongside contributions from mixed-assets (+£0.37bn) and MMFs (+£0.13bn).
Royal London follows closely with £2.95bn, supported by equities (£2.49bn) and money market demand (+£1.82bn), which more than offset bond outflows (-£1.09bn) and modest mixed-asset redemptions (-£0.27bn).
Amundi ranks third with £2.44bn, with flows concentrated in equities (+£1.45bn) and money markets (+£0.67bn), supplemented by bond inflows (+£0.34bn). Schroders recorded £2.09bn of inflows, via a highly concentrated mixed-asset allocation (+£4.60bn).
Overall, while flows remain concentrated among a small group of large promoters, the YTD picture is more balanced across firms than the monthly view, with multiple houses benefiting from diversified sources of demand rather than single allocations dominating outcomes.
