Outflows from UK retail funds surpassed £2bn in November, according to the latest monthly statistics from the Investment Association (IA) - up from £1.6bn in the previous month.
The IA statistics found net retail flows were negative for UK authorised and recognised funds with £2.1bn in outflows during the month. Over half of this came from fixed income funds, with the asset class seeing outflows of £1.2bn, although this was down from the £1.7bn in outflows in October.
Worst affected among the fixed income sectors was the £ Strategic Bond category, which saw outflows of £564m, while Global Emerging Market Bond was the only fixed income sector to see positive flows (£57m).
Bond funds shed £1.6bn in October amid worst retail outflows since EU referendum
Overall, equity sectors experienced outflows of £467m, a substantial downturn from October when outflows were far smaller at £137m. Most of these came from UK and European funds which saw outflows of £319m and £426m respectively. Global, North America and Japan were the top three best-selling equity sectors with positive flows, while Asia equity funds also posted inflows.
The only two asset classes to experience positive flows in November were Property (£19m) and Mixed Asset (£350m). Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares was the best-selling sector that month with sales of £216m.
At the other end of the spectrum, Targeted Absolute Return funds remained the worst-selling sector for the second consecutive month with outflows of £756m.
It was also bad news for the UK All Companies sector; having seen just £35m in outflows in October after months of being the worst-selling sector, November saw outflows return to £269m.
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Chris Cummings, chief executive of the Investment Association, commented: "Global uncertainty has led to a doubling-down of investor caution in November. A combination of international trade tensions, ongoing Brexit uncertainty and the market volatility seen from October onwards, have clearly dented confidence.
"Fixed income funds experienced a second month of significant outflows, which alongside the declining appeal of UK and European equity funds, contributed to the largest net retail outflow since the EU referendum of £2.1bn."
