According to the October adviser sales data, while UK Equity Income and Property remained the top two selling sectors on the funds platform month-on-month, there was a significant jump in sales into the Short Term Money Market sector, with it jumping to third in the rankings.

Indeed from an individual funds perspective, while Neil Woodford’s Woodford Equity Income fund continued to top the rankings by fund, Isa and pension wrappers, three passive funds appeared on the bestsellers list, up from one last month, within the FundsNetwork Pension.

Danny Wynn, head of fund partners for Fidelity International, said: “October saw many of the major global indices having their best month in years. Yet despite this, many investors continued to favour defensive assets, which is unsurprising given the extended bouts of volatility they had to endure in previous months.”

Noting the rise in the use of passive funds, Wynn said it cannot be called a trend after just one month, but noted it will be of interest to see if the theme develops in the medium-term.

There were also some signs of confidence returning among investors in the latest sales data, evident by the Emerging Markets sector featuring in the top 10 best sellers and the appearance of the Fidelity Emerging Markets fund on the individual best sellers.