In May, bad share prices made relatively little impact on investors, but mainly because buyers have been on strike now for months. Having shunned equity funds for six months in a row, investors showed that they still preferred to sit on the sidelines as share prices fell, just as they had during the market rebound earlier in 2019.
- Investors remained neutral on equity funds in May, despite global stock market declines, extending a six-month run of sitting on the sidelines
- Pockets of optimism, such as UK equities, are almost balanced out by pessimism elsewhere, such as European equities
- Without buying of cheap UK funds, equities would have seen consistent outflows for months
- Risk aversion rose in May, and investors turned increasingly to bond funds, which saw the fifth highest inflow on record
- Fund flows offshore abated as Brexit delays extended