The Invesco FTSE 250 UCITS ETF (S250) saw its assets cut in half last week as investors were spooked by a lack of resolution from the ongoing Brexit saga.
On 11 April, European Union leaders granted the UK a six-month extension to Brexit with European Council President Donald Tusk warning them to “not waste this time”.
Amid pressure from Conservative MPs to resign, Prime Minister Theresa May is set to resume talks with Labour in an attempt to solve the impasse and get a deal through Parliament.
According to data from Ultumus, S250 saw some of the most redemptions from products listed in Europe in the week ending 19 April with net outflows of $51m, a 43% decrease.
The outflows last week come despite the index’s strong performance. So far this year, the FTSE 250 has returned 12.8% versus 10.8% for the FTSE 100.
Despite this however, Brexit continues to cast a shadow over the UK. Business investment declined in all four quarters of last year to finish down 2.4% year-on-year, the worst figures since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, according to the Office for National Statistics, while house prices rose are the slowest rate in six years.
The FTSE 250 is one of the purest plays to the domestic UK economy as the bulk of the constituents’ revenues come from the UK and is the index most likely to be impacted by UK-orientated issues.
S250 has 30% in financials, 20% in industrials and 14% in the consumer discretionary sector and charges a management fee of 0.25% and a swap fee of 0.10%.
