The sharp fall in equity markets last week would have to extend for much longer before individual investors flee stock funds, say UK financial advisers, who are telling their clients to stay put.

The FTSE 100 index's previous gains for the year have evaporated following a week-long slide on fears of higher inflation and interest rates.

The blue chip index shed 170.7 points, or 2.9 per cent - its biggest percentage fall since March 2003 - after strong US inflation data spooked equity investors and a split vote on rates by the Bank of England raised expectations of higher UK borrowing costs.

Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) say the market's recent falls are unlikely to create a rush for the exit.

"It's more a case of people ringing up wanting reassurance than massive redemptions. They understand how much they've made (from the market's rise)," said Gavin Haynes, senior investment director at British-based IFA Whitechurch Securities.

"If you have two or three days of falls, suddenly it's all over the news that billions of pounds have been wiped off the stock market. The scare-mongering when there have been heavy falls makes it more difficult for investors to be rational."

Mr Haynes said the week of declines had removed the "froth off the top of the market" and taken the index back to fair value levels.

After a painful bear market at the start of the decade, many private investors had taken their time to re-enter the stock market.

In April the Investment Management Association said net sales of UK retail funds rose to £2.082 billion in March, from £505.6 million in March last year, and achieved the strongest figures for six years.

"The investor has finally come back into the (stock) market... We are unlikely to see them (investors) going into bond funds," Jason Hollands, communications director at F&C Asset Management, said.

Although assets such as bonds and property and strategies such as hedge funds are sometimes viewed as more defensive options in times of falling stock markets, advisers appear unwilling to recommend that clients switch out of stocks.

Darius McDermott, managing director at Chelsea Financial Services, said the pullback could present a buying opportunity for stock investors.

"Our general view is 'please don't push markets further down by panic selling'. It's possibly a buying opportunity," he said.

"You can go into cash, bonds or property as a short-term haven, but we're saying to clients that there's been poor economic data... but it's macro data rather than company data." Meanwhile, Tim Cockerill, head of research at British-based Rowan Capital Management, said his outlook had not changed after the fall but that investors would become more cautious if stock markets remain at current levels for a time or fell further.

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