It is the sector’s first return since November 2007 to the best sellers list, which is usually dominated by Sterling Corporate Bond, Sterling Strategic Bond and, more recently, Property.
"The clue is in the name. Risk aversion is high amongst investors at the moment, and Cautious Managed offers a wide range of funds and strategies for nervous investors," Gavin Haynes, investment director at Whitechurch Securities says.
"Distribution funds feature heavily in the sector, which is a plus, as income is at the front of many people's minds right now," he adds.
The data, which also shows UK All Companies as the worst selling sector in terms of net retail sales, indicates investors were still keen to cash in, despite worries on volatility, with fund sales in April the highest this year, and funds under management at is highest on record at £510.9bn.
Ryan Hughes, senior fund manager at Skandia, works on the management team at Skandia Diversified, Skandia Spectrum 3 and Skandia Spectrum 4, all in the Cautious Managed sector.
He says investors are nervous about the current volatility in markets, but that they want to get good returns from the market rallies.
"Cautious Managed in a halfway house for the investor. There is a nice exposure to equities and bonds, which lets investors rest easy when times are tough, but reap the rewards in better times," he says.
Hughes also points to so-called cash cows on the FTSE, such as GlaxoSmithKline, which is currently offering a 5.24 per cent yield, [at 15:20 on 8 June] and whose dividend, he says, is safe.
The Skandia 4 fund took on the same amount of risk as the sector in the three months to 31 May, when there was high volatility on the FTSE – 11 per cent volatility – but gave better returns; 2.4 per cent rather than 0.5.
The management team uses equities and bonds, but has also taken advantage of UCITS III, and invests in alternatives, using hedge fund strategies, Absolute Return strategies, and exposure to currency.
Performance of funds vs sector over 1-yr
Source: Financial Express Analytics
"Markets had become unduly exuberant at the start of the year. We are in a long de-leveraging cycle, and volatility on the back of that will continue. There is still the possibility for absolute returns in this market, but stock selection is crucial. It is worth considering having a genuinely low-risk cautious fund in your portfolio, and that is what we can offer," Simon Mungall, manager of the Ignis Multi Manager Cautious fund says.
The IMA figures also showed that the Cautious Managed Sector was the most popular IMA Sector for ISAs sold via platforms during the ISA season, March and April, in terms of gross retail sales.
Sterling Strategic Bond was the second most popular sector, down a peg after being the most popular sector for the two previous months. Unclassified was the third most popular, followed by Property.
Global Bonds came fifth. There were no equity sectors in the top five, with the highest selling equity sector being North America, in sixth position.
"Investors in this time period were worried about the election outcome, and nervous about the outlook for the UK as a whole," Haynes points out.