Global investors pouring money into US financial assets

Investors around the globe are pouring money into US financial assets, a sign of confidence that the world's largest economy remains poised to pull through the Covid-19 pandemic better than many others, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

Investors world-wide have funnelled more than $900 billion into US-domiciled mutual and exchange-traded funds, on a net basis, during the first half of the year, according to data compiled by Refinitiv Lipper.

That is a record in data going back to 1992 and is more than investors have put into funds elsewhere combined around the world during the first two quarters of 2021, the report said.

The inflows underpin a rally that has carried US stocks to records, ahead of major indexes in Europe or Asia. The S&P 500 has climbed over 17 per cent in 2021 to fresh all-time highs, while Germany's DAX has risen 14 per cent, the Shanghai Composite has added 2.2 per cent and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average remains little changed.

Investors shifted some buying away from US funds at the end of the first half. Flows to US funds were about $51 billion in June, down from $168 billion in May and the first month inflows fell below $100 billion since January. Meanwhile, flows to foreign funds increased to over $93 billion last month, from $84 billion in May.

Still, investors said that while Covid-19 variants, inflation or central-bank policy shifts could slow the US recovery, they don't seem likely to derail it, even as other countries struggle with vaccine rollouts or fresh waves of infections.