One week after US stocks suffered “massive” outflows despite a net inflow into global equity funds while the S&P jumped, everyone is back in the pool as a “wall of money” returned with a vengeance” this week, driving record inflows into both global and US-focused equity funds as concerns around trade dissipated, while billions more were plowed into tech stocks according to the latest weekly fund flow report from Bank of America.
According to BofA CIO Michael Hartnett, a record $43.3 billion was put into equities this week as investors shrugged off trade war risks that had initially sent stocks reeling, even as those very risks returned in the subsequent week and have pressured the S&P lower on four consecutive days
There was no good news for active investors, however, as more than all of the inflows ($43.9BN, also a record) went to ETFs, with mutual funds suffering another weekly outflow of $0.6 billion). On a YTD basis, a record $131BN has been allocated to ETFs, or 3.6% of AUM, with just $21BN going to “long onlies
Meanwhile, bond funds saw a “more humble” $2.4 billion in inflows.