Retail investors poured £3.8 billion into investment funds in June, the highest monthly total since August 2021, according to data from the Investment Association (IA). The figure marked the eighth consecutive month of net inflows, with £12.3 billion invested in the first half of 2026.
Despite the strong overall flows, investors remained cautious, shifting towards lower-risk strategies. Fixed income funds saw inflows of £2.3 billion in June, up 53% from £1.5 billion in May, with government bond funds attracting £674 million. Equity funds, by contrast, saw net outflows of £1.1 billion, though this was an improvement on the £1.5 billion outflow in May.
Miranda Seath, director of market insight and fund sectors at the IA, said investors had shown resilience by staying invested but were shifting to lower-risk strategies, with bonds, diversified mixed assets and cash-like assets leading the way.
In the first half of 2026, equity funds saw total outflows of £7 billion, a slowdown from the £14.3 billion outflow in the second half of 2025. UK-focused funds saw outflows of £3.1 billion, the lowest half-yearly level since 2021. North America was the only IA equity sector to end the period in positive territory, with inflows of £1.7 billion, though monthly flows fluctuated amid uncertainty related to artificial intelligence.
Passive strategies remained more popular, with tracker funds seeing inflows of £9.7 billion in H1, while actively managed equity funds saw outflows of £13.9 billion. Responsible investment funds also saw outflows of £2.7 billion over the period.