US equity and global equity funds were 2014’s best-sellers globally, according to Morningstar’s Global Flows Report 2014. Total global net inflows into US equity large cap blend funds topped the list.
A six-month outflow streak in European equities came to a halt in the first month of the new year, according to Morningstar’s freshest fund flows data.
Absolute return funds welcomed 43.5bn in net flows in 2014, by far the highest inflows of any asset class. By contrast, high yield bond funds, which were very popular in the previous three years, have fallen out of grace.
Morningstars December fund flows exposed an appetite gap between investment grade bonds and higher yielding, riskier bonds.
High yield bonds registered a record 7.3bn in net outflows in December, according to Morningstar’s latest fund flows data. European investors reacted strongly on a momentary market correction that month.
The biggest equity asset classes all witnessed net outflows from European investors in November, while bond funds continue to attract more inflows.
Mutual funds with the highest possible rating attract almost all inflows from investors, while lower-rated funds register large net outflows.
In October, fund selectors hastily reduced their allocations to European and emerging market equities and fled into ‘safe’ US equities.
The market volatility of recent months has led to a radical shift in fortunes for the participants in EIE’s Fantasy Fund Picker Competition.
European investors pulled 5.3bn out of high yield funds in September, while they propped up their holdings in investment grade corporate bonds and long/short debt.
European ETF assets have more than doubled over the last five years, according to a study by Morningstar.
Net outflows from European equity funds broke a new record in September, according to Morningstar’s latest fund flows.
