Investors flood into UK shares as fall in price proves tempting
BRITISH shares are at last at a low enough price to tempt investors back into the market, according to Capita Registrars’ data out today.
Over this summer a net £1.3bn was pumped into shares by individual investors, accompanied by rising share values boosting their wealth by £17.6bn.
The small holders sold a net £1bn in the spring, fleeing from economic uncertainty and volatility on the market.
But Capital Registrars believes the FTSE 100’s low point of 5,260 at the end of May tempted investors back into the market.
They have since been rewarded as the index rose back to 5,900.
The combination of buying and rising prices has pushed total ownership to £215bn or 11.3 per cent of the market.
“Private investors have astutely timed the market this year, trading down before the stock market fell in June, and buying back in on the way up,” said Capita Registrars’ Charles Cryer.
“Private shareholders will have earned £38bn in dividends by the end of 2012 since the crisis began in 2008. With interest rates perpetually at rock bottom, equities are generating by far the best income among the main asset classes.”