US equity-focused ETFs and mutual funds saw their largest inflow of the year over the latest weekly reporting period.
The $12.2 billion haul came on the heels of an $11 billion influx the prior week.
So, this makes back-to-back YTD “bests,” and pushes the 2024 net flow solidly into positive territory at around $13 billion.
This month started with the largest outflow since September. That’s now recouped. And then some.
Given what happened (again) with Nvidia, it’s worth recalling that 2023‘s flows story was a tale of January through late-May versus late-May onwards. Nvidia’s Q1 report nine months ago turned the tide for US equity fund flows which, prior to Jensen Huang’s clarion call, were deeply negative for the year. It’ll be interesting (to say the least) to see if Nvidia’s latest bullish shocker engenders a similar response. Inflows to a hodgepodge of Nvidia-, chip- and AI-linked products were obviously quite robust in the lead-up to the company’s report.
US-focused funds were the lion’s share of the equity inflows this week. Globally, equity funds took in a net $15 billion. Japanese shares have seen inflows for half a dozen straight weeks amid the Nikkei’s record-setting run. FOMO drove the blue chip gauge to its first all-time high since 1989 this week, a historic milestone that was summarily ignored — subjected to a total eclipse by Nvidia. It’s kinda sad, when you think about it: A new Nikkei record was 34 years in the making. And nobody could talk about anything but Jensen’s “tipping point.”
Elsewhere, European shares saw another outflow. That’s just par for the (sad) course across the pond. By contrast, emerging market equity funds enjoyed a 12th straight inflow, taking the YTD haul to $53.6 billion.
Outside of equities, inflows to IG credit continued apace and global money market funds took in a very modest $2 billion. ICI’s data showed US MMFs shed $5.33 billion in the week to February 21.
If you’re wondering, MMFs are on track for $1.3 trillion of inflows in 2024. To employ a deliberately amusing understatement, that’d count as a solid encore from 2023’s $1.4 trillion.
