BofA Survey Reveals Record Drop in Investor Exposure to US Equities

According to a Bank of America Corp. survey, investors have drastically reduced their exposure to US equities in recent weeks, marking the largest drop on record, as reported by Bloomberg.

The survey, conducted from March 7th to March 13th with 171 participants managing $426 billion in assets, revealed that fund managers' allocation to US stocks has fallen to approximately 23% underweight, the lowest level since June 2023. A net 44% of respondents anticipate a deterioration in global growth, a sharp increase from the previous month.

Strategist Michael Hartnett noted in a statement included in the report, "Pessimism on global growth outlook is bad news for stocks."

The survey indicates that global investors are actively seeking opportunities outside the US, particularly in Chinese tech stocks and European equities, the latter benefiting from a more optimistic regional economic outlook. A net 39% of global investors are now overweight European equities, the highest proportion since mid-2021. Hartnett also suggested that this sharp decline in investor sentiment could signal the end of the correction in the US equity market. Last week, he recommended buying the S&P 500 at 5,300 points, a level 7% lower than current trading.