Wary investors desert the market - papers 21st August

The paper says research by Capita Registrars, which looks after the share registers of 100 of the biggest 350 listed companies, suggests small investors have sold a net £10bn of shares since February. Sales by individuals outweighed new purchases by £3bn in February and March, by £1bn in April and May and by £6bn in June and July. The sell-off this year is now equivalent to 5% of individual direct shareholdings and reduces the proportion of the entire market held directly by UK private investors from 12% to 11%. John Roundhill, director of Capita, said the 600-point fall in the FTSE 1...