Investor money piled into US equities last week as broad market equities staged a comeback in the same week that America’s central bank announced the end of
the economic stimulus programme known as quantitative easing (QE).
Nearly three-quarters of the $20.44 billion (€16.31 billion) committed to EPFR Global-tracked equity funds found its way into those with US mandates.
The figures are for the week up until Wednesday 29 – which coincidentally marks five years since the US emerged from recession.
Equity funds as a whole saw inflows hit a 53-week high. European equities hit a 20-week high, while frontier equities saw a 15-week high.
Apart from the US, investors also particularly gravitated towards funds dedicated to some of the larger emerging markets and European countries outside the eurozone. Switzerland equity funds hit a 34-week high while UK equity funds recorded inflows in excess of $400 million for the second week running.
EPFR notes that retail investors are making their first appearance since early April as volatility decreases.
Russell Investments, a fund manager, notes that October 29, 2014, marked the fifth anniversary of the US emerging from recession, when US GDP data showed an annual growth rate of 3.5% for the third quarter of 2009. Since the US emerged from recession five years ago, US equities have led the extended bull run in global equities.
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