Tech and financials boost $46.2 billion flows into global equity funds: BofA

LONDON (Reuters) – Investors piling into tech and financial stocks helped equity funds attract $46.2 billion in their third-largest inflow on record in the week to Wednesday while inflation linked bonds also shone, BofA’s weekly fund flow data showed on Friday.

The data, collected by EPFR before a rise in U.S. real-yields triggered a global stock market correction on Thursday, also showed bond funds attracted $7.1 billion in a 16th straight week of inflows and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) added $1.3 billion.

Investment grade debt attracted $5.4 billion at the expense of high-yield, which lost $1.7 billion in the largest outflows in three months, BofA said. In equities, U.S. stocks raked in $20.4 billion while emerging markets enjoyed record inflows of $11.6 bln into debt and equity.

“(The) bond sell-off has been wonderful for high yield, small cap, banks, energy, EM…when these reverse as bond yield rise = rate rise flips from good to bad,” BofA’s chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett wrote in a note to clients.

Meanwhile investors pulled $5.5 billion out of cash and withdrew $500 million from gold funds.

(Reporting by Karin Strohecker; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe and Louise Heavens)