by winston » Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:09 am
US$273b pulled out of equity funds
Jeffrey Tam; Thursday, June 26, 2008
Money managers around the world have reduced their exposure to equity funds by US$273 billion (HK$2.13 trillion) over the past three months amid untamed global inflation and speculation on a worldwide recession, according to a survey conducted by Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
"The story for mainland China is similar - in the very near term, sentiment is likely to be driven by concerns over the government's response to inflation, but the fundamentals for the mainland remain sound," said Bruno Lee, head of wealth management for personal financial services at HSBC.
The survey, which aims to help investors better understand the current investment environment, has been conducted with 12 fund houses, including Franklin Templeton Investments, Societe Generale and Allianz Global Investors Hong Kong.
Fewer money managers believe "cash is king" as they remain confident, long term, on the fundamentals of Asian equities.
"While, in the near term, inflation, slowing global growth and weak sentiment will impose pressure on equity markets, it is believed that the region will remain relatively strong on the back of robust domestic demand and continuing wage growth," said Lee.
It's all about "how much you made when you were right" & "how little you lost when you were wrong"