Private investors have ditched equities in a big way during the past six months, collectively selling 10 billion pounds-worth of stock, data showed the day before.

Retail investors pulled 9.9 billion pounds out of the UK stock market between February and July, according to figures from Capita Registrars.

That is equivalent to 5.2 percent of private investors’ equity holdings, or 381 pounds for every household in the country.

The sell-off has led to a drop in the proportion of private money invested in the stock market: private investors now own 11 percent of the market – equivalent to 192.3 billion pounds-worth of shares, or 3,262 pounds for every man, woman and child in the UK – down from 11.5 percent at the end of May.

The past two months account for the lion’s share of the sell-off: 6 billion pounds of stock was sold during June and July.

John Roundhill, a director of Capita Registrars, believed retail investors had used the recent stock market recovery to take profits.

Justin Modray, head of communications at Bestinvest Brokers, said it was unsurprising to see investors selling out of the stock market during a period of volatility.

“Investors have generally done well over the last three years, in many cases recouping losses incurred over the three years prior to that, so some will have sold at the first signs of trouble to avoid the risk of losing money again,” he said.

But he warned investors against trying to time the market.

“Selling based on a knee-jerk reaction is usually a bad idea,”said Modray.

Consumer credit grew by 800 million pounds in June this year, compared to 1.3 billion pounds in May and a previous six-month average of 1.2 billion pounds, according to Bank of England figures.

There was hardly any growth in credit card lending in June, compared with a 200 million pound rise in May.