IN FOCUS
/ SECTOR PROFILE /
Adam Lewis says
investors should
use the risk profiles
of each IA Mixed
Investment sector as
a guide rather than
a guarantee it will
contain the right fund
for them
T
HE IA’S MIXED
INVESTMENT
SECTORS have hit the
headlines in recent
weeks, with both the
trade body and fund supermarkets
reporting a surge in sales.
IA Mixed Investment 40-85%
Shares was the most popular sector
among investors in February with
£303m of net retail sales, followed
by the 20-60% Shares sector in third
place with net sales of £164m.
Many industry professionals
be lieve the multi asset funds in
these sectors are perfect for the more
cautious investor, but are there any
other reasons to explain their surge
in popularity?
First, a bit of history. Once simply
known as the Managed Funds
sector, it was split by the IA (or the
IMA as it was back then) into Active
Managed, Balanced Managed and
Cautious Managed in April 1999
to give advisers more information
about the underlying funds.
In January 2012, the IA acted on
research that showed investors
wanted jargon-free names for their
fund sectors to give them simple
information about the minimum
and maximum exposure to shares.
Collaborating with the ABI, it
rebranded Cautious Managed
to Mixed Investment 20-60%
Shares, Balanced Managed to 40-
85% Shares, while the old Active
Managed sector become what is
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