Global equity funds pulled in $18.62 billion in net inflows in the week ending August 12, marking a twelfth consecutive week of gains, according to data highlighted by The Kobeissi Letter. Europe led the way with $13.52 billion, followed by Asia at $4.13 billion and the United States at $2.58 billion, extending a streak that has now run since roughly the end of May.
The pace of buying has been remarkably steady rather than accelerating or fading: the latest week followed $21.15 billion in inflows the prior week and, according to LSEG Lipper data reported alongside the same figures, a slightly smaller $17.27 billion the week before that — a pattern of large but gradually normalizing weekly demand rather than a single dramatic spike. Fund-flow trackers such as the Investment Company Institute's long-running combined flows data have documented similar multi-week streaks in past cycles, typically coinciding with periods of reduced rate-hike expectations.
What's Driving the Streak
The rally has coincided with a strong second-quarter earnings season and data showing weaker-than-expected U.S. payroll growth alongside easing inflation readings, a combination that has tempered market expectations for further Federal Reserve rate hikes. The MSCI All-Country World Equity Index touched a record high during the same week, with strong results from AI-linked companies among the names cited as contributing to sentiment.
Bond Funds Are Rising in Parallel, Not Losing Out
Notably, the equity inflow streak hasn’t come at bond funds’ expense. Weekly net investment in bond funds actually climbed to a four-week high of $18.01 billion over the same period, with short-term, euro-denominated, government and loan-participation bond funds all posting solid inflows — a sign that overall investor cash allocation is expanding rather than simply rotating from one asset class into another.
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Why It's Worth Watching
Twelve straight weeks of global equity inflows is a long enough streak that a reversal, whenever it comes, would itself become a notable data point for markets watching for signs of fading risk appetite. For now, the combination of resilient earnings, cooling labor data and reduced rate-hike expectations has proven to be a durable enough mix to keep pulling fresh capital into stocks even as bond investors simultaneously add to fixed-income positions — a dynamic more consistent with expanding liquidity than a rotation story.
