# UK investors’ stocks sell-off accelerates, ESG ‘boom ends’ – Calastone Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2023-09-05 Category: NEWS Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news Meta Title: UK Investors Sell-off: Stocks Down, ESG Boom Ends Meta Description: Discover why UK investors are turning away from ESG funds and opting for cash amid a market sell-off. Get the latest insights from Calastone's report. URL: https://financedigest.com/uk-investors-stocks-sell-off-accelerates-esg-boom-ends-calastonehtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/2023-09-05t070555z1lynxmpej8406zrtroptp4britain-economy-1736813612989-compressed.jpg) # UK investors’ stocks sell-off accelerates, ESG ‘boom ends’ – Calastone LONDON (Reuters) – Investors in Britain dumped both stocks and bonds in August as they continued to opt for the safety of cash and money-market funds, according to data from fund network Calastone published on Tuesday. Funds focused on environmental, social and governance issues (ESG) also saw a fourth consecutive month of net selling, down 953 million pounds – taking the total pulled from such funds to nearly 2 billion pounds since May. Overall, equity funds shed 1.19 billion pounds ($1.50 billion) during the month – the worst since September 2022 – with UK-focused funds hit hardest, with redemptions of 811 million pounds, according to the data. Fixed income funds also saw net selling of 330 million pounds in August, marking a reversal of fortunes after adding 4.8 billion pounds over the first seven months of the year against a backdrop of rising interest rates. “Fear was a big motivator in August,” said Edward Glyn, head of global markets at Calastone. “With savings interest rates and yields on safe-haven money market funds at their highest level since 2007, it doesn’t take much to cause a rout.” Money market funds once again outperformed, adding 673 million pounds – the second highest monthly inflows on record. Asset managers, which had previously cashed in on a surge in demand for ESG funds, should take note of the developing sell-off, said Calastone’s Glyn. “The move out of ESG funds has gathered pace in a remarkable reversal after the boom in recent years. Four months of outflows signals a new trend emerging that fund houses will have to work hard to counteract.” ($1 = 0.7916 pounds) (Reporting by Iain Withers, Editing by Tomasz Janowski) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---