Equity funds see $3b inflows in Q1
Equity funds gained $3 billion in assets under management during the first quarter of 2021, with half of that coming in March, according to Calastone.
In its latest Fund Flows report, the firm said more capital was added to equity funds in February and March than in all of 2019.
This particularly went into global equity funds and those focused on Australian equities while specialist and emerging market funds also saw good demand from investors.
On the other hand, outflows were seen in equity income funds after dividend cuts in Australia, Europe and the UK.
“Sell orders for equity income funds have outgunned buy orders more than 2:1 since April last year. These funds have seen outflows for nine consecutive months by the end of March,” the firm said.
Calastone said there had also been greater switching between funds with turnover rising and reaching a record amount of $7 billion in March. Over the last six months, turnover was a third higher on average than in 2019 at 35%.
Ross Fox, head of Australia and New Zealand, said: “The preference for global and Australian equity funds reflects investor judgement that this country will join the global economic leaders as the pandemic comes to an end.
“Booming commodity prices that are especially positive for Australian share prices and the economy here are clear evidence that this judgement is already proving right. The sharp increase in the Australian dollar over the last year is also a vote of confidence in the country’s near-term prospects.”
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Laura Dew
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