Global Equity Funds Report

(Reuters) – Global equity funds gained a fourth weekly inflow in five weeks in the week through Jan. 22, spurred by optimism for U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts following cooling inflation and President Donald Trump’s plans for extensive AI infrastructure spending.

According to LSEG Lipper data, global equity funds attracted a net $7.42 billion worth of inflows during the week, having lost about $4.3 billion in outflows in the prior week.

The MSCI World index has rallied nearly 5% since the announcement of the inflation report on Jan. 15, while Europe’s continent-wide STOXX 600 index hit a record high of 530.55 on Wednesday.

By region, investors snapped up a massive $6.69 billion worth of European equity funds. They also acquired Asian funds to the tune of $2.84 billion but ditched U.S. funds worth $3.2 billion on a net basis.

Sectoral funds were popular, garnering a net $4.86 billion worth of inflows, the largest since Nov. 13, 2024. Tech, financials, and industrials attracted notable inflows of $1.86 billion, $1.38 billion, and $1.33 billion, respectively.

Global bond funds drew a net $14.27 billion for a fourth consecutive week of purchases. The high yields segment was particularly in demand, attracting $2.72 billion, the largest amount in 10 weeks. Loan participation funds and government bond funds also racked up significant inflows of $2.13 billion and $1.95 billion, respectively.

Meanwhile, money market funds saw inflows of $44.13 billion, contrasting with net sales of $94.14 billion in the previous week.

Among commodities, investors pulled $540 million from precious metal funds, marking a third weekly outflow in four weeks. Energy funds also experienced a net $456 million in sales for a seventh consecutive week of outflows.

Data covering 29,630 emerging market funds revealed that equity funds had their 11th successive weekly outflow, totaling $1.95 billion. However, bond funds received inflows for a third straight week, worth about $517 million on a net basis.