Net outflows totalled €17.7bn, including €3.3bn from UK equity funds, also a record high, according to Morningstar. While most of the outflows came from actively managed funds, index trackers also suffered net redemptions.
Over the past seven months, European equity funds recorded a whopping €58bn in net outflows. It’s quite remarkable how quickly investor sentiment towards the asset class has changed, as European equity funds saw €63bn in net inflows during the previous seven month-period (see chart below).
All cards on EM
As covered extensively by this publication recently, investors have now set their sights on emerging market equities instead. The asset recorded €5.1bn in net inflows in July, the highest monthly inflows since January 2013. Almost all of these inflows flowed into global emerging market equity funds. Despite all the speak about EM equity ETFs seeing record inflows, actively managed funds took most of the new money.
Emerging markets is really the only place to entice equity investors at this moment. While some fund buyers and asset allocators moved some money to US equities in the wake of the Brexit vote, fund flows were only marginally positive in July. Japanese equities, for their part, recorded an eighth straight month of net outflows.
