5th Mar 2026 11:55
(Alliance News) - Investors sold down equity funds for a record ninth consecutive month in February, according to the latest Fund Flow Index from Calastone released on Thursday.
Outflows accelerated to GBP927 million for the month, making February the worst month since November, when budget jitters dominated sentiment, global funds network Calastone said in the report.
More than one sixth of the net outflow, GBP162 million, came from specialist sector funds focused on the technology sector.
Between June 2025 and February 2026, a net GBP12.2 billion has been pulled from equity funds, enough to reverse more than a typical year's worth of inflows, the report showed.
Notably, February's net outflow was driven by a "decisive uptick" in sell orders which indicates a greater appetite to withdraw capital, Calastone said.
It was not caused by a "simple buyers' strike", the report added, noting the level of buying remained relatively steady.
The biggest pulses of selling came when markets were weakest in the month – around the 5th, 16th and 23rd, indicating that investors were watching movements closely and reacting, the report said.
"Investors seem to have got a taste for selling and are looking for reasons to pull money out of funds," commented Edward Glyn, head of global markets at Calastone.
"But we are not in a bear market," Glyn added, noting even if some pockets of the market are being punished the global index ultimately ended the month more or less where it began.
"Investors are sitting on large capital gains and it seems that nerves and volatility are driving them out of equities," he said.
Glyn said actively managed funds are "bearing the brunt" of the selling.
Active equity funds have seen outflows for 14 consecutive months, even as index trackers continue to enjoy inflows, the report showed.
In February alone, investors sold down GBP1.50 billion of active funds but bought GBP571 million of passive ones.
Across all equity funds, outflows were strongest in UK equities, global funds and specialist sector funds.
Among other asset classes, there were steady inflows to fixed income funds and money market funds and ongoing strong inflows to multi-asset funds.
Calastone's Fund Flow Index analyses buy and sell orders in individual funds every month from millions of UK-based investors. More than 85% of all UK fund flows by value pass across Calastone's network.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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