Sales of equity income funds reached new record highs in April as private investors ploughed £500 million ($835.8 million) into stocks and shares, according to statistics from the Investment Management Association (IMA).

Sales of equity income funds reached new record highs in April as private investors ploughed £500 million ($835.8 million) into stocks and shares, according to statistics from the Investment Management Association (IMA).

It is the highest amount for the asset class since records began in 1992 and is also the first time the asset class has topped the bestseller list since September 2013.

The UK equity income sector has been on fire lately and over the past year has returned more than double than its global counterpart at 10.8 per cent.

Property was the second best asset class with net sales of £446 million - the highest since December 2009 - while in third place was mixed investment 2-60 per cent shares racking up sales of £281 million, down from £285 million in March.

Overall fund net retail sales were £2.9 billion – the highest since April 2011 - with ISAs recording net retail sales of £1.3 billion.

“Fund sales were just shy of the £3 billion mark in April with £1.3 billion coming from investors making the most of their tax-free ISA allowances by rushing to meet the end of tax year deadline or topping up at the start of the new one,” said Daniel Godfrey chief executive at IMA.

He added, “The IMA UK Equity Income Sector was the best-selling sector for both ISAs and funds overall. However investors also channelled money into mixed asset and property funds – property in particular has been seeing consistent growth in sales over the last year.”