Fund sales collapse as investors shun equities Bonds continued to be the most popular assets, with fixed income now the bestselling asset class for the 12th month running. Bond funds attracted net retail sales of £518m and they accounted for 25pc of gross retail sales - new investment and switches - compared with an average of 22pc over the previous 12 months. Equity funds saw a net outflow of £604m, the biggest since November 2011. Nevertheless equity funds continued to take 48pc of total gross sales in August, slightly down on the average percentage of 49pc in the previous 12 months. Jason Hollands of Bestinvest, the investment adviser, said: "August was a dreadful month for retail investment fund sales. Net flows sank to £23m, their lowest level since October 2008, the height of the credit crisis. While the distraction of the Olympics was no doubt a contributing factor, retail funds sales across the summer were lower than the previous year. He added: "Investment is a strange world where the usual rules don't seem to apply. If the price of a TV falls in the sales we probably feel more tempted to buy it. With equities the opposite happens - after a horrendous May for shares, some investors have rushed for the door into fixed income funds, which are currently yielding less than equity income. In so doing, they have missed out on a quite remarkable bounce.