Market falls force groups to rationalise fund ranges

Market falls over the past year have lead to 14% of the funds universe now consisting of portfolios with assets under £5m. While the total number of portfolios in the UK universe has increased marginally from October 2001 to October 2002, the total value of the funds has decreased by almost £26bn over the period. This has led to a reduction in the average fund size in the total universe from £114m to £99m. There were 1,962 funds available to investors in October 2001 compared to 1,982 a year later, an increase of only 20 funds. However, the discrete data suggests there has not been a u...