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Flows flee European equity post ECB corporate QE – BAML

European equity funds reported $4.8bn (€4.2bn) in outflows last week, the largest in 80 weeks, Bank of America Merrill Lynch revealed on Friday.

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This brought to 12 the number of consecutive weeks of outflows seen within the sector, the bank said in its latest flow show report. Year to date, $24bn worth of assets have come out of European equity funds.

The outflows in April follow on from previous redemptions in March, though they have accelerated markedly. According to Morningstar fund flows data, European investors pulled out €3.9bn from European equity funds in March. Those were the largest monthly outflows since October 2014. 

Preference for credit

On the other side of the coin, flows into credit funds continued apace, the bank said, explaining that ECB corporate QE proved a catalyst for a U-turn on credit flows.

Inflows into high grade bond funds were positive for the seventh week in a row at $653m, albeit it at a lower level than the previous week, the bank said

In the high yield space, flows almost doubled week on week to $377m, government bond funds recorded a third week of consecutive outflows, while money market funds recorded their largest outflow in four weeks, the bank added. 

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