Investors demonstrated an appetite for global emerging markets and the Asia-Pacific region this month, as three of the top four fund purchases logged by Barclays Stockbrokers fell into these categories.

According to the firm’s latest analysis, the Newton Asian Income fund took the top spot for client investment in March, with the Aberdeen Emerging Markets fund and the First State Global Emerging Markets fund ending up in second and fourth place respectively.

Similarly, investors continued to demonstrate strong interest for UK funds as they did in February, with seven out of the top 20 funds belonging to this sector. The Fidelity UK Smaller Companies fund reached third place, while the Invesco Perpetual High Income fund came seventh.

Overall, March saw an increasing client interest in greater diversification, with Japan, North America, Europe and global funds moving up the ranking into the top 10.

Barclays Stockbrokers’ findings revealed that this month saw the highest ever value invested into funds by the firm’s clients, with an 87 per cent increase in client investment year on year from March 2012, and a 57 per cent increase in the number of clients buying funds compared to the same month last year.

“The first quarter of 2013 leading up to tax year end has seen unprecedented levels of investing by clients in funds. March 2013 cemented this trend with yet another record month for funds investing set by our clients,” said Alastair Thaw, head of investor product.