Global equity funds attracted sizable net purchases in the week through March 25, registering their largest weekly inflow since February 18 as investors reacted to a U.S. decision to delay strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure. According to LSEG Lipper data, net acquisitions totaled $37.77 billion, reversing a two-week selling streak.
The buying was heavily weighted toward U.S. stocks, with investors adding a net $37.24 billion to U.S. equity funds, ending a three-week run of net sales. Asian equity funds also received inflows, with a weekly net addition of $5.23 billion. In contrast, European equity funds experienced net outflows of $7.52 billion over the same period.
Market sentiment proved fragile later in the week. Global equities dropped roughly 1.6% on Thursday after Iran denied any talks with the U.S., a development that compounded doubts about prospects for a quick ceasefire in the nearly one-month-long conflict in the Middle East.
Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, cautioned that investors should not assume a rapid normalization of energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, while adding that he did not expect major or lasting economic damage under his base-case outlook. "This means long-term investors with well-diversified portfolios should stay invested," Haefele said.
Demand for debt-linked instruments cooled to its weakest level in nearly three months, with global bond funds receiving a net inflow of just $2.53 billion. Within fixed income, certain segments faced notable withdrawals: high-yield bond funds saw outflows of $4.75 billion, and euro-denominated bond funds recorded outflows of $2.11 billion. By contrast, short-term bond funds drew a record $11.1 billion.
Investors also reversed a long-running trend in cash vehicles, redeeming about $64.78 billion from money market funds and ending an eight-week streak of net purchases in that asset class.
Precious metals funds were out of favor for a fourth consecutive week, with gold and related commodity funds seeing $3.14 billion in net outflows. Emerging market assets continued to face selling pressure for a third straight week: equity funds in emerging markets lost $2.78 billion, while emerging market bond funds saw $1.73 billion withdrawn.
These flow figures come from a dataset covering a combined 28,796 funds.
Contextual note: Market flows during the week were shaped by geopolitical developments and investor positioning across equities, bonds and cash instruments, with sizable reallocations into U.S. and short-term bond funds even as regional risks kept volatility elevated.