Bank of America data show client demand for U.S. equities surged last week, producing a record weekly inflow into equity exchange-traded funds of $6.8 billion - the largest weekly total the bank has recorded since it began tracking flows in 2017. In addition to the ETF activity, single-stock purchases totaled $1.9 billion, marking the first week of net buying of individual names since early March.
The buying momentum coincided with a 0.9% weekly gain for the S&P 500, which reached another record high. The week’s inflows followed two consecutive weeks in which BofA clients were net sellers of equities. Strategist Jill Carey Hall characterized the flows as evidence of "strong equity optimism amid earnings despite continued geopolitical uncertainty," reflecting client willingness to re-enter risk assets even as global tensions persist.
Institutional clients were the largest net buyers after three prior weeks of selling. Private clients added to equities for a second straight week, while hedge funds reported their fourth week of net buying. Buying occurred across market-cap segments, and notably large-cap stocks saw inflows for the first time since early March.
The record ETF inflows were concentrated in large-cap and blend ETFs. Despite both growth and value ETF categories having attracted inflows in most weeks since February, clients sold both growth and value ETFs during the most recent week. At the same time, clients purchased ETFs spanning small-, mid- and broad-market exposures as well.
Sector-level ETF flows were mixed. Funds in six of eleven sectors attracted net inflows, with Energy ETFs leading the list - continuing a pattern of inflows for Energy in most weeks since January. Healthcare and Technology ETFs experienced the largest outflows among sectors.
Looking at single-stock activity, clients bought stocks across eight of eleven sectors. Communication Services led single-stock buying with its first inflow in four weeks, followed by Consumer Staples. Energy equities also saw net buying for the first time since late February. Conversely, Technology, Consumer Discretionary and Materials names recorded net selling, with Technology registering the largest single-stock outflows for the week even though the sector showed the strongest near-term earnings revisions across the market.
Corporate buyback activity picked up on a week-over-week basis, but BofA noted that buybacks remain below the post-global financial crisis average for comparable weeks when measured as a percentage of market capitalization - a pattern that has persisted for most of the year. Sector trends in buybacks include a marked slowdown in Technology, while buyback volumes have increased year-to-date in Financials and Energy.
The flow picture highlights divergent behavior across investor types, market caps and sectors, with Energy and large-cap blend exposures among the principal beneficiaries of last week’s reallocation of capital.