Global money funds draw biggest inflow in nearly a month as investors turn cautious 04-Sep 19:08

Global money market funds attracted significant inflows in the week through September 2, as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and a selloff in global bonds prompted ​investors to increase cash holdings and favour shorter-duration debt.

Investors added a ‌net $46.1 billion to global money market funds, the biggest weekly inflow since August 5, according to LSEG Lipper data.

The United States struck Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz, ​while Tehran said it had targeted U.S. assets across the region. Brent ​crude climbed to a nearly 1-1/2-month high of $97.62 a barrel, adding ⁠to inflation concerns.

Rate worries also resurfaced after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said ​last week that the central bank would "have work to do" if policymakers were ​not confident underlying inflation was returning to its 2% target.

Meanwhile, global equity funds attracted net inflows of $6.65 billion, more than reversing the previous week's $6.13 billion in outflows.

Investors poured a net $13.09 ​billion into European equity funds and $4.22 billion into Asian equity funds, while withdrawing ​roughly $11.12 billion from U.S. equity funds.

Global sectoral funds recorded net outflows of $2.62 billion, as investors ‌ended ⁠a two-week streak of inflows into technology funds with net sales of $856 million. Financial and industrial funds also saw significant outflows of $1.35 billion and $484 million, respectively.

Weekly net inflows into global bond funds cooled to a five-week low of $10.01 billion, ​although short-term bond funds ​attracted $7.43 billion - their ⁠largest weekly inflow since July 8.

Loan participation funds also attracted $1.08 billion in inflows, while government and corporate bond funds ​recorded net outflows of $3.34 billion and $1.41 billion, respectively.

Among commodity funds, ​gold and ⁠other precious metals funds remained popular for an eighth straight week, attracting $2.85 billion in inflows. Energy funds, meanwhile, posted a third consecutive weekly outflow of $232 million.

In emerging ⁠markets, ​investors extended their equity fund buying streak to ​eight weeks, with net inflows of $1.99 billion. They also added $646 million to bond funds, according to data ​covering 28,994 funds.