A new Bank of America (BofA) survey shows fund managers across the globe believe one asset class is poised to produce superior returns in the years ahead.
BofA’s Global Fund Manager Survey, which polled 190 respondents overseeing $523 billion in wealth, finds that 54 of managers believe that international equities will be the best-performing asset class in the next five years, reports Investing.com.
-->Meanwhile, 23 picked US equities, 13 had their eye on gold and 5 chose bonds.
Looking closer at the equities market, BofA’s monthly survey shows that fund managers are increasing their allocation in eurozone and emerging market (EM) stocks while trimming positions in US names. Specifically, they are bullish on stocks trading in the energy and banking sectors as they move capital away from staples, utilities and healthcare.
As for the US dollar, the fund managers are at their most underweight position in the American currency since 2005, as 35 say they have larger positions in other currencies.
BofA chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett says,
“[The] biggest summer pain trade is long the buck.”
The poll also finds that “long gold” is still the most crowded trade, with 41 bullish on the precious metal. At the same time, optimism for the Magnificent 7 appears to be waning, with just 23 holding long positions.
Based on the results of the June survey, BofA says the most contrarian trades include long US dollar, short gold; long US equities, short eurozone stocks and long consumer stocks, short banks.
