UK Equity Income funds had their largest ever monthly net retail inflow in June with sales of £1.4bn, making this the best selling Investment Management Association (IMA) fund sector in June. This was also more than was taken by UK Equity Income funds in the five previous months of 2014 when there were net retail sales of £1.25bn.
"We expect this was dominated by the launch of Neil Woodford's new fund which raised £1.6bn," say analysts at broker Numis.
"Investor interest in CF Woodford Equity Income Fund (GB00BLRZQ406) has caused a spike in UK Equity Income fund sales," adds Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. "The Woodford effect is a clear example of investors backing a fund manager rather than a particular asset class, or market. Given the direction of markets, it is impossible to predict with any accuracy, this is a pretty sensible way to go about investing."