Investing
Jittery markets see bond funds enjoy largest weekly inflows since Nov 2021
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
By Lucy Raitano
LONDON (Reuters) – Bond funds recorded their largest weekly inflow since late 2021 while equity funds were sold off, suggesting investors are becoming increasingly risk adverse against a darkening outlook for the global economy.
Investors put $11.7 billion into bonds in the week to Wednesday – the biggest such inflow into fixed income since November 2021, BofA said on Friday in a research note citing EPFR data.
Over the past three weeks the bank’s private clients bought bonds in the largest quantities since 2012, BofA said.
Reflecting a pivot away from riskier assets, equity funds suffered weekly outflows of $2.6 billion, with Europe clocking its 25th week of negative equity flows.
Bucking the trend, financial equities recorded its first inflow since March 2022, raking in $1 billion, while investors bought $1.2 billion of consumer equities – the biggest inflow in ten weeks.
BofA analysts also said their ‘Bull & Bear’ indicator, which seeks to track market trends, remains unchanged at “extreme bearish” level.
(Reporting by Lucy Raitano, editing by Karin Strohecker)
A bond fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund that invests primarily in bonds and other debt securities, aiming to provide investors with regular income and capital preservation.
Equity funds are mutual funds or exchange-traded funds that invest primarily in stocks, aiming for capital appreciation over time. They can focus on specific sectors or regions.
An inflow in finance refers to the movement of money into an investment or fund, indicating increased investor interest or confidence in that asset.
The Bull & Bear indicator is a market sentiment tool that helps investors gauge whether the market is in a bullish (optimistic) or bearish (pessimistic) phase based on various economic factors.
Explore more articles in the Investing category
