Institutional wholesale business increased by more than 50 per cent over the last year to March off the back of a recovery in underlying investment markets, according to Plan for Life Actuaries and Researchers.
It drove 26.4 per cent growth in the wholesale funds market over the year to March (8 per cent in the March quarter), increasing overall wholesale funds to $529.5 billion.
Plan for Life said strong growth was evident, even with adjustments due to incomplete fund histories which could shave increases right back from potentially inflated growth rates.
A reversal in market returns over the last couple of weeks, however, has undone many of the gains since the beginning of the year, particularly with regard to Australian equities, Plan for Life said.
Gross inflows fell by 13.8 per cent to $43.2 billion during the March quarter and increased by 11 per cent over the past 12 months, including adjustments with regard to incomplete data.
Plan for Life said future adjustments would take place as more complete data and histories were provided by fund managers.
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