North American funds on a high

Private investors ploughed record sums into North America funds in February, the Investment Management Association (IMA) has revealed.

Sales of North American equity funds hit an all-time high of 222 million, five-times the monthly average for the sector, with Japan and global funds also selling well. Total net sales of 1.9 billion represented a modest rise from January, but were in line with the 12-month average.

Jane Lowe, director of markets at the IMA, said: "Equities were again the highest-selling asset class in February, led by funds investing in overseas equities. The top-three selling equity sectors were the Global, North America and Japan sectors."