Equity Flows Return to Black for the First Time in 2026
Asset class
- Net flows for April 2026 were +£2.68bn, the strongest for the year so far
- Mixed-assets funds again saw the largest inflows (+£3.08bn), while equity funds saw the first net positive flows for the year (+£371m)
Active v passive
- Equities saw strong YTD active-to-passive rotation: active funds shed £9.42bn, while passive attracted £4.96bn
- Passive funds attracted £4.86bn over April, split between passive mutual funds (+£3.02bn) and ETFs (+£1.84bn)
Classifications
- Equity Global ex UK attracted the largest inflows in April (+£3.43bn), almost entirely to a single passive fund
- Mixed Asset GBP Aggressive – Global has dominated YTD flows, attracting £7.75bn
Asset manager
- Vanguard led sales (+£3.77bn), with flows dominated by equity (+£2.30bn) and bond (+£1.14bn)
Flows by Asset Class
Three-Year Flows
Chart 1: Asset Class Flows, 36 Months, to April 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Financial markets sold off sharply in March as higher oil prices revived stagflation concerns and raised the risk of renewed central bank tightening, echoing the energy shock of 2022. Traditional safe havens offered little protection: government bonds, including US Treasuries, and gold fell as expectations of further easing in 2026 fell. Government bond yield curves generally bear-flattened from the end ofFebruary, with short-dated yields rising faster than longer maturities under the strain of rising inflation expectations.
UK 10-year gilt yields moved above 5%, their highest since 1998. UK fund flows reflected this pressure unevenly. Bonds were positive in April (+£2.19bn), building on March’s positive overall flows, with April demand led by passive funds (+£1.89bn) and active funds also contributing (+£299m). Nevertheless, fixed income markets remained under strain, with yields backing up most where inflation was already above target, notably the UK and US.
Equity markets rallied strongly in mid-April on the announcement of a Middle East ceasefire. Equity fund flows also recovered in April to see their first positive month of the year, attracting £371m, but the rotation remained strongly passive, with a distinct global bias. Mixed-assets funds were the clearest winner, extending March’s momentum with £3.08bn of inflows in April.
April sees the eleventh consecutive month of inflows to alternatives funds. No month has topped £1bn, although March 2026’s £928m came close, as investors look for downside protection in an increasingly risky world.
Active versus Passive
Chart 2: Asset Class Flows, Active and Passive, April 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Net flows for April 2026 were +£2.68bn (active, -£2.18bn/passive, +£4.86bn). Excluding money market funds, flows were stronger (+£6.13bn: active, +£1.44bn/passive, +£4.70bn).
Mixed-assets funds maintained the momentum seen in March, taking the largest inflows for the second consecutive month (+£3.08bn: active, +£2.90bn/passive, +£173m). This persistence reinforces the strength of demand for mixed-assets strategies after March’s large single-allocation boost.
Despite growing concerns over inflation, as a result of conflict in the Middle East, bond funds also had a positive month, attracting +£2.19bn and building on March’s positive overall flows. April’s inflows were driven mainly by passive bond funds (+£1.89bn), though active strategies also contributed (+£299m).
Equities also recovered from March’s redemptions, posting their first net inflows of the year (+£371m). However, the asset class continued to show a clear active-to-passive rotation (active, -£2.15bn/passive, +£2.53bn).
Alternatives recorded inflows of +£369m, almost entirely active (active, +£376m/passive, -£7m), while ‘other’ funds attracted £107m, all passive. Commodity funds saw modest inflows of +£25m (active, +£14m/passive, +£11m). Real estate remained marginally negative (-£4m).
MMFs saw the heaviest redemptions (-£3.45bn: active, -£3.61bn/passive, +£161m). MMFs haven’t shifted much YTD, although we had seen strong net flows over 2025, and this is the largest outflow from MMFs since June 2025.
Chart 3: Asset Class Flows, Active and Passive, YTD 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
YTD flows were +£4.15bn, with a strong bias to passive strategies (active, -£2.31bn/passive, +£6.46bn). Excluding MMFs, flows were stronger (+£6.80bn: active, +£1.18bn/passive, +£5.62bn), as MMF redemptions have weighed on the headline total, mainly as a result of this month’s activity.
As was the case in March, mixed-assets funds again dominate, attracting £9.48bn, with the overwhelming majority going to active strategies (active, +£9.01bn/passive, +£467m). As such, mixed-assets flows have been the main support for active fund demand.
The other asset class supporting active strategies are alternatives funds: the next strongest asset class, taking +£2.09bn (active, +£2.10bn/passive, -£3m). It’s likely that alternatives are attracting investor interest as geopolitical uncertainty plus an increasing mindfulness of downside risk in key equity markets make strategies offering downside protection all the more attractive.
Bond funds were negative overall (-£452m), as active redemptions (-£259m) and passive outflows
(-£193m) both weighed on the asset class despite April’s strong monthly rebound.
Equities remained the clearest area of active-to-passive rotation. The asset class is still negative YTD (-£4.46bn), but this masks sharply divergent flows: active equity funds have shed assets (-£9.42bn), while passive equity products have attracted +£4.96bn.
Money market funds also detracted from the YTD total, with redemptions of (-£2.64bn), driven by active outflows (-£3.49bn) and partly offset by passive inflows of +£845m. Commodities attracted +£180m, mainly passive, while ‘other’ funds took +£226m, all passive. Real estate remained persistently negative (-£268m), entirely from active products.
ETFs and Passive Mutual Funds
Chart 4: Passive Asset Class Flows, Mutual Funds v ETFs, April 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Passive funds attracted +£4.86bn over April, split between passive mutual funds (+£3.02bn) and ETFs (+£1.84bn). Equity and bond products dominated the positive flows, with passive equities taking +£2.53bn (mutual funds, +£1.65bn/ETFs, +£872m) and passive bonds attracting +£1.89bn (mutual funds, +£1.21bn/ETFs, +£676m).
This marks a continuation of the active-to-passive rotation evident elsewhere in the data, particularly in equities, where passive inflows more than offset heavy active redemptions. Bond flows were also strongly tilted to passive vehicles, although the split between mutual funds and ETFs was more balanced than in equities.
Passive mixed-assets funds added +£173m, all through mutual funds, while passive money market products took +£161m, driven by ETF inflows (+£172m) against small mutual fund redemptions (-£11m). ‘Other’ passive funds attracted +£107m, all via ETFs.
Commodity flows were modest but positive (+£11m: mutual funds, +£2m/ETFs, +£9m). Alternatives were the only negative passive segment, with outflows of -£7m, driven by mutual fund redemptions (-£8m) and marginal ETF inflows (+£1m).
Chart 5: Passive Asset Class Flows, Mutual Funds v ETFs, YTD 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Passive funds have attracted £6.46bn YTD, with ETFs (+£3.68bn) ahead of passive mutual funds (+£2.79bn).
Equity has dominated passive demand, taking £4.96bn, led by mutual funds (+£3.77bn) but with a significant ETF contribution (+£1.19bn). While ETFs are taking a considerable proportion of the passive equity market, they do not dominate as they do in Europe.
Money market funds were the next strongest passive asset class YTD (+£845m), split between mutual funds (+£537m) and ETFs (+£308m). Mixed-assets passive flows were also positive (+£467m), entirely through mutual funds, while ‘other’ funds attracted +£226m, all through ETFs.
Commodities gathered +£161m, overwhelmingly through ETFs (+£158m). Alternatives were marginally negative (-£3m), with mutual fund outflows (-£9m) partly offset by ETF inflows (+£6m).
Bonds were the only significant drag on passive flows YTD (-£193m), but the underlying split was sharply divergent: passive bond mutual funds saw significant redemptions (-£1.98bn), while bond ETFs attracted £1.79bn.
Flows by Classification
Chart 6: Largest Positive and Negative Flows by LSEG Lipper Global Classification, April 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Equity Global ex UK attracted the largest inflows in April (+£3.43bn), entirely to passive vehicles, and almost entirely to a single fund. This was the clearest example of the active-to-passive rotation within equities, with investors favouring broad global exposure while continuing to redeem from active equity funds. Equity Global (without the ex UK) is generally where we see the global equity heavy action, so it’s not too surprising to see £3.15bn of this going to one passive share class.
Mixed Asset GBP Aggressive – Global followed, taking £3.18bn, overwhelmingly through active funds (+£3.15bn). This reinforces the persistence of mixed-assets demand seen at the asset-class level, with the stress here being on equity-heavy strategies, as it has been over the past few years.
Bond Global USD also had a strong month (+£2.65bn), driven mainly by passive funds (+£2.38bn), though active products also contributed (+£265m). Mixed Asset GBP Flexible attracted +£502m, again largely active (+£427m), while Equity Global saw inflows of £389m, despite active redemptions (active, -£296m/passive, +£685m). It’s also interesting to see Equity US in the top 10, taking £319m, as investors have generally been trimming their US equity exposure over 2025 into 2026. Despite this, the S&P 500 has continued to outperform Europe and the UK over the period.
It’s also interesting to see Equity Theme – Infrastructure take £293m, given the classification’s rate sensitivity, at a time when rate expectations are moving towards hiking, albeit with the countertendency of fears of negative impacts to growth.
On the negative side, Money Market GBP suffered the heaviest redemptions (-£3.83bn), almost entirely from active funds
(-£3.84bn). Equity Europe ex UK, which has not provided (at least in performance terms) the US alternative that many had anticipated, also saw significant outflows (-£1.18bn), driven by passive redemptions (-£1.04bn), while Bond Global Corporates GBP shed £896m, mostly from passive vehicles (-£577m).
Mixed Asset GBP Balanced – Global, which led flows in March, reversed sharply in April (-£812m), with active redemptions of -£832m partly offset by passive inflows of +£20m. Equity UK (-£599m) and Equity UK Small & Mid Cap
(-£476m) also remained under pressure.
What’s of note (though not on the table) is the £120m of redemptions from Equity Emerging Markets Global funds, despite their popularity over recent months and YTD, and also despite their strong performance over the past year. Equity Japan (-£714m) and Equity Asia Pacific ex Japan (-£469m) have also struggled despite decent performance, though this is not a new phenomenon.
Chart 7: Largest Positive and Negative Flows by LSEG Lipper Global Classification, YTD 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Mixed Asset GBP Aggressive – Global has dominated YTD flows, attracting £7.75bn, almost entirely through active funds (active, +£7.71bn/passive, +£39m). The scale of this allocation underlines the strength of demand for active mixed-assets strategies through the first four months of the year.
Equity Global ex UK is ranked second (+£2.71bn), with inflows driven entirely by passive (+£3.43bn), mainly to a single fund in April (see above) more than offsetting active redemptions (-£720m). This stands in contrast to Equity Emerging Markets Global (+£2.34bn), where flows have been overwhelmingly active (+£2.38bn), with passive funds marginally negative (-£46m).
Equity Global also remains positive YTD (+£2.03bn), despite active redemptions (-£1.34bn), as passive inflows of £3.37bn have carried the classification. Bond GBP Government has attracted £2bn, mainly active (+£1.85bn), while Mixed Asset GBP Balanced – Global has taken +£1.6bn, almost all active (+£1.58bn), despite April’s reversal.
On the negative side, Bond GBP Corporates has suffered the largest YTD redemptions (-£3.54bn), almost entirely from active funds (-£3.53bn). Money Market GBP has also seen heavy outflows (-£3.46bn), again driven by active redemptions (-£3.47bn), with passive flows marginally positive (+£9m).
Equity UK remains under persistent pressure (-£2.49bn), almost all active (-£2.46bn), while Equity Europe ex UK has shed -£2bn, split between active (-£962m) and passive (-£1.04bn). Equity Asia Pacific ex Japan (-£1.72bn), Equity UK Income (-£1.42bn), Equity UK Small & Mid Cap (-£1.42bn), and Equity Japan (-£904m) further illustrate the breadth of YTD equity redemptions outside the global and emerging-markets classifications.
Flows by Promoter
Chart 8: Largest Positive Flows by Promoter, April 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The top 10 fund promoters attracted £10.41bn over April.
Vanguard led April sales, attracting £3.77bn of assets. Flows were dominated by equity funds (+£2.30bn), with bond funds also contributing strongly (+£1.14bn), alongside more modest allocations to mixed assets (+£214m) and money market funds (+£117m).
Legal & General followed with +£1.12bn, supported mainly by money market funds (+£586m), equity funds (+£377m), and bond funds (+£105m). HSBC ranked third (+£1.08bn), with flows spread across money market funds (+£343m), bonds (+£261m), equities (+£248m), and mixed assets (+£219m).
Scottish Widows attracted +£885m, with inflows led by equity funds (+£473m) and bonds (+£339m). Schroders, which dominated March on the back of a large mixed-assets allocation, remained in positive territory in April (+£642m), though flows were more balanced, led by equities (+£406m) and mixed assets (+£381m), partly offset by alternatives (-£130m) and money market redemptions (-£94m).
Amundi (+£571m), Brewin Dolphin (+£484m), Federated Hermes (+£471m), Coutts (+£322m), and Mercer (+£319m) completed the top 10, with flows varying by promoter but broadly reinforcing the month’s main pattern of strong equity, bond, and mixed-assets allocations.
Chart 9: Largest Positive Flows by Promoter, YTD 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The top 10 fund promoters attracted +£24.74bn YTD.
Vanguard again leads the table by a clear margin, with net inflows of £6.77bn. Equity funds accounted for the bulk of this (+£4.81bn), supported by bond funds (+£1.14bn), mixed assets (+£579m), and money market funds (+£243m).
HSBC ranks second (+£3.36bn), driven mainly by bond inflows (+£2.72bn), with additional support from mixed assets (+£615m) and equities (+£559m), partly offset by money market redemptions (-£548m). Amundi follows closely (+£3bn), with flows led by equities (+£1.57bn), money market funds (+£821m), and bonds (+£628m).
Schroders, which dominated March’s promoter flows, remains a major YTD money taker (+£2.73bn). However, its position is almost entirely the result of mixed-assets inflows (+£4.98bn), partly offset by bond (-£1.15bn), money market (-£562m), equity (-£403m), and alternatives (-£136m) redemptions.
Northern Trust (+£2.36bn) has benefited from sizeable bond (+£1.09bn), money market (+£880m), and equity (+£392m) inflows. Artemis (+£1.68bn) and Titan Wealth (+£1.60bn) also feature strongly, both supported mainly by equity flows. Brewin Dolphin (+£1.11bn), Coutts (+£1.10bn), and Dimensional (+£1.05bn) complete the top 10, with Coutts’ YTD position dominated by mixed-assets inflows (+£1.07bn).
