Inflows Into Nearly Every Asset Class In 2017 – 2018 Warm Up Act?

Although the overarching story of global markets in 2017 was subdued volatility, overall there were net inflows almost entirely across the board – with global equity mutual funds/ETFs (US$281bn), bond funds (US$346bn), global money markets (US$145bn) and commodities (US$8.6bn) recording increases. Investors poured record net inflows of over $620bn into global equity mutual funds/ETFs and bond funds – recording an impressive combined tenfold increase from 2016 when the US election and Brexit speculation depressed risk appetite. During 2017 investor confidence was supported by moderate interest rate policy actions from central bankers worldwide, combined with consistent upward momentum in global equities…