A record $58.1 billion poured into global equity funds over the past week as investors pulled money out of cash funds and had a lighter exposure to bonds, BofA’s weekly fund flow data showed on Friday.
World stocks notched all-time highs this week as earnings and economic recovery prospects buoyed investor sentiment.
The rush to equities saw extreme positioning among the U.S. investment bank’s wealth management clients with 63.1 per cent allocated to equities -- highest ever -- and 19.1% to debt -- lowest ever.
The investment bank said a bulk of last week’s flows ended up in US equities with $36.3 billion inflows, the best ever, with large-cap funds taking in $25.1 billion in the week to Wednesday.
Relentless buying in big tech stocks has also been a major feature in recent investment trends. Tech funds attracted $5.4 billion, beating last week’s record $4.2 billion inflows.
BofA’s Bull & Bear indicator hit 7.7 just shy of “extreme bullish” levels in a sign of exuberance.
The risk-on mood triggered outflows from cash and gold. Cash funds lost $10.6 billion, while gold recorded its first outflows in two months with $800 million fleeing. Bond funds saw $13.1 billion inflows.