Flows into equity funds were stunning in the first three weeks of January, and the final week was no exception.
This past week, total equity inflows were $18.8 billion, the third-largest on record, according to BofA Merrill Lynch.
Flows into bond funds held up as well, but a clear divergence between the two asset classes has emerged in January:
BofAML Global Research, EPFR Global
Below is a breakdown of this week's flow data, courtesy of BofA strategist Michael Hartnett:
- Total flows into equity funds were 0.4 percent of assets under management at $18.8 billion, with $12.2 billion added to equity ETFs (+0.9 percent) and $6.6 billion added to long-only equity funds (+0.2 percent)
- Total flows into U.S. equities were $11 billion (+0.4 percent), the largest since 2011, but about half of those flows were into the S&P 500 index as opposed to individual equities
- Total flows into bond funds were $3.0 billion (+0.1 percent)
- Total flows out of money market funds were $12 billion
- Total flows into emerging market equity funds were $3.7 billion (+0.5 percent), marking 21 straight weeks of inflows – the longest streak since the fourth quarter of 2010
- Total flows into European equities were $1.2 billion (+0.2 percent) and flows into Japanese equities were $0.4 billion (+0.5 percent)
- Total flows into emerging market bonds were $1.6 billion (+0.7 percent), marking 34 straight weeks of inflows
- Total flows into floating-rate notes were $1.1 billion (+1.9 percent), the largest since February 2011
- Total flows into high-yield bonds were $0.6 billion (+0.2 percent), but flows into investment-grade bonds were only $27 million
Meanwhile, oil funds lost 3.2 percent of assets under management, government bond funds shrank 0.3 percent, and gold, silver, and TIPS funds contracted 0.1 percent. Quite a statement to begin the year.
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