A sharp rise in Omicron cases during December did little to dampen investor appetite for equity funds, which raked in £1bn of fresh cash for the month, as their total haul for the year reached a record £14.2bn.

According to data from Calastone, which tracks money entering and leaving funds from financial advisers, fund supermarkets and wealth managers, there was a “flurry of optimism” among UK investors during December, which resulted in their highest allocation to equity funds in four months.