Investors spurned emerging market equities and bonds in the latest week, moving more cash into developed market stocks on a brightening economic environment, fund-tracker EPFR Global said on Friday. Cash came off the sidelines in the week ended February 2, with a net $14.6 billion in outflows from money market funds while bond funds, overall, took in a net $2.4 billion. Municipal bond funds had $761 million in outflows, extending their redemption streak to 12 weeks.
The political disruptions and deadly protests in Egypt and Tunisia, combined with lofty price levels, prompted the net redemption of $7.02 billion from emerging market equity funds, the firm said. In the geographically diversified GEM (Global Emerging Markets) equity funds, investors pulled out a net $4.5 billion, a record according to EPFR's data-set.
The figure was consistent with data from Thomson Reuters' Lipper service, which also said a record amount of net redemptions was recorded during the week. Lipper's data goes back to 1992. In contrast, developed market equity funds had net inflows of $6.6 billion, their fifth straight week of inflows. US equity funds took in a net $4.78 billion, with large-cap equities taking in $2.8 billion. US small-cap growth funds were the only subgroup to suffer outflows.