Investment sales dip in May

LONDON (Reuters) - Net sales of retail investment products dipped in May as brittle investor confidence took another hit, according to data issued on Monday by the Investment Management Association (IMA).

Total net retail sales dipped to 653.3 million pounds last month, down from 1.54 billion pounds in April -- the best month in the previous 12 months.

The most popular destination for investors' money was bond funds, at the expense of equity funds; the UK All Companies equity funds saw net outflows of 374.8 million pounds. The specialist sector saw the most investment, with commodity funds and property funds doing best.

Tax-advantaged Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) fell, with outflows of 198.3 million pounds, compared with inflows of 397.3 million the previous month.

Total funds under management for the month were 453.7 billion pounds, up slightly on the previous month, but substantially down on the same period last year.

"May saw respectable levels of new retail investment, after the recovery in April. But sales are still well below the levels of 2007, and investors continue to remain cautious in their choice of asset class," said Richard Saunders, IMA's Chief Executive said.

(Reporting by Simon Challis, editing by Will Waterman)