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Director of Research
USA
+19 year(s) experience
Cameron, who holds a degree in economics from Yale University, joined EPFR Global in 2001 and was appointed Director of Research in 2010.
He co-authored an IFR-published study of fund flows and produces regular reports on trends that emerge from EPFR Global’s data. In 2016, he presented at conferences in Berlin and Shanghai, appeared on Bloomberg TV and co-authored a series of reports on the Brexit vote and its implications, in conjunction with IGM.
Before joining EPFR Global he was managing editor of The WorldPaper, an international affairs supplement carried by papers in Latin America, Emerging Asia and the EMEA regions with a combined monthly circulation of over 1 million readers.
EPFR Fund Flows
Investors pumped another $194 billion into EPFR-tracked Money Market Funds during the final week of a first quarter that saw large swathes of the world locked down to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the price of oil fall 65%, the S & P 500 index fall 33% from its peak to its trough on March 23 and over six million Americans file for unemployment in a single week. While Money Market Funds absorbed record setting inflows, Equity Funds saw over $50 billion flow out during the quarter and Bond Funds set weekly and monthly outflow records on their way to their biggest quarterly outflow since 3Q13.
Topic Industry News
EPFR Fund Flows
EPFR-tracked US Money Market Funds absorbed a record-setting $254 billion during the week ending March 25 as panicked investors liquidated their holdings in both Equity and Bond Funds and moved as near to cash as they could reasonably get. With the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 exceeding 500,000 globally, redemptions from all Equity Funds hit a 68-week high while Bond Funds followed up last week’s record outflow by posting an even bigger number.
Topic Industry News
EPFR Fund Flows
The dominant theme for the week ending March 11 – flight to safety – was writ large in the fund flow data as the COVID-19 virus continued to spread and oil producers found themselves in a price war. EPFR-tracked Money Market Funds posted a new inflow record, flows into US and Japan Equity Funds hit five and eight-week highs respectively and commitments to Gold Funds hit their highest level since late 3Q19. Meanwhile Europe, Emerging Markets and Total Return Bond Funds experienced record-setting redemptions, as did all Bond Funds, while outflows from High Yield Bond Funds were the biggest since mid-3Q14 and second largest on record. Fear, however, was not the only theme influencing flows. Yield hunger drove fresh money into Dividend Equity Funds, Brazil’s reform story pulled another $530 million into Brazil Equity Funds and funds with socially responsible (SRI) or environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates comfortably extended an inflow streak stretching back to late 4Q18. “Investors are also gravitating towards markets with reputations for social cohesion and the capacity for decisive action,” observed EPFR Research Director Cameron Brandt. “This week we saw positive flows for Norway, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, France, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Russia and Taiwan Equity Funds.” Overall, the second week of March saw $25.8 billion flow out of all Bond Funds, $6.3 billion from Balanced Funds, $4.7 billion from Equity Funds and $1.3 billion from Alternative Funds while Money Market Funds took in over $135 billion.
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EPFR Fund Flows
EPFR-tracked Bond Funds were swept up in the broad correction that hit most fund groups in late February, posting their first weekly outflow in over a year during the seven days ending March 4, as fears about the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) continued to pummel asset classes ranging from oil to junk bonds. Flows into Money Market Funds climbed to a 30-week high while redemptions from Bank Loan and Total Return Bond Funds hit levels last seen in 4Q18, over $7 billion flowed out of High Yield Bond Funds and Balanced Bond Funds set a new outflow record. Daily data did show flows for several major groups rebounding after the US Federal Reserve’s 50 basis points interest rate cut and Equity Funds with socially responsible (SRI) or environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates showed their customary resilience. Several fund groups – which did not include US Equity Funds – also benefited from safe-haven flows, and the reform story offered by Latin America’s largest economy kept fresh money flowing into Brazil Equity Funds.
Topic Industry News
EPFR Fund Flows
Oil prices plunged and equity markets corrected sharply during the fourth week of February as the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus continued to cast a shadow over the outlook for global economic growth. Mutual fund investors, whose initial reaction to the epidemic was measured, responded more aggressively to the latest market signals. Outflows from all EPFR-tracked Equity Funds climbed to a 22-week high while, on the fixed income side, redemptions from Bank Loan, High Yield Bond and Alternative Funds hit 39, 54 and 70-week highs respectively. Overall, the week ending February 26 saw a net $19.3 billion flow out of Equity Funds, $1.4 billion from Money Market Funds, $1.5 billion from Balanced Funds and $1.9 billion from Alternative Funds, Flows into Bond Funds were positive for the 60th week in a row as year-to-date inflows for this group climbed past the $165 billion mark.
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EPFR Fund Flows
Year-to-date flows into EPFR-tracked Bond Funds pushed over the $155 billion mark during the third week of February as mutual fund investors remain reluctant to chase the returns being delivered by equity markets. Uncertainty about the full impact on global growth of the Wuhan coronavirus, the focus of retiring baby boomers on capital preservation and the US Federal reserve’s recent statement that its current monetary policy is ‘appropriate’ are among the current reasons for the muted response to the record highs being posted by major equities indexes. Those investors that are buying into the latest rally by US and other equity markets are either opting for broad, diversified exposure or, in the case of the US, focusing on the sector – technology – that is leading the charge. Global Equity and Technology Sector Funds both rank among the 15 fund groups that have attracted the biggest amounts of fresh money YTD. Absent from that list are fund groups with Asian mandates, which have predictably struggled as investors try to get a fix on the scope and trajectory of the coronavirus outbreak. The week ending Feb. 19 saw Korea Equity Funds post record-setting outflows, China Equity Funds experience net redemptions for the second time in the past three weeks and Japan Equity Funds record consecutive weekly outflows for the first time YTD.
Topic Industry News
EPFR Fund Flows
Investors showed signs they are learning to live with the Wuhan coronavirus during the second week of February, steering fresh money to most of the fund groups tracked by EPFR. They committed a combined $36 billion to all Equity and Bond Funds -- with Bond Funds setting their second weekly inflow record since the start of the year -- and showed increased appetite for riskier asset classes such as junk bonds, emerging markets equity and debt and alternative assets. Diversified fund groups remained popular with investors going into the second half of February. Global Equity Funds recorded their biggest inflow since 1Q18, Global Bond Funds took in fresh money for the 49th time in the past 52 weeks and Global Emerging Markets Equity (GEM) Equity Funds extended their longest inflow streak since a 19-week run ended in mid-2Q18. Overall, the week ending Feb. 12 saw Bond Funds take in a net $23.6 billion, Equity Funds $12.5 billion, Money Market Funds $9.3 billion, Balanced Funds $638 million and Alternative Funds $277 million. Equity Funds with socially responsible (SRI) or environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates attracted nearly a third of the headline number for all Equity Funds, and those with a focus in dividend paying stocks posted inflows for the fourth time in the past five weeks and 18th in the past 22.
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EPFR Fund Flows
A week that started with a coronavirus-induced whimper ended on Feb. 5 with US President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial ending in acquittal, the release of data showing US private payroll growth in January hit its highest level since mid-2Q15, the UK officially outside the European Union and Chinese authorities talking about viral cures and rolling back some tariffs on American goods. As a result, benchmark US equity indexes hit fresh record highs and flows into EPFR-tracked Developed Markets Equity Funds climbed to a 13-week high. The headline number for Developed Markets – and all – Equity Funds would have been even higher were it not for over $2 billion in UK Equity Fund redemptions that reflect the liquidation dividend payouts by Blackrock to investors in the LF Equity Income Fund, the Neil Woodford-managed fund that crashed last year due to asset liquidity mismatches. While equity markets have been getting the headlines, Bond Funds continued to pull in above average amounts of fresh money with net inflows since the start of the year moving past the $85 billion mark. “Looking at flows by fund group, the balance between the desire to preserve capital and yield hunger remain tilted towards the former,” noted EPFR research Director Cameron Brandt. “But we are seeing that balance shift towards yield as the latest round of central bank easing begins to bite.”
Topic Industry News
EPFR Fund Flows
A coronavirus epidemic centered in China put global equity markets on the defensive in late January and prompted Chinese officials to suspend trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. But the impact on flows to EPFR-tracked Equity Funds was mixed. Emerging Markets Equity Funds recorded their first weekly outflow since mid-October and redemptions from Asia ex-Japan Equity Funds hit a 16-week high. Overall, however, Equity Funds posted their fourth inflow in the past five weeks as China, Canada and Japan Equity Funds attracted fresh money and the diversified Global Equity Funds chalked up their third largest inflow on record. The week ending Jan. 29 also saw Europe Equity Funds chalk up their third largest outflow since mid-October. In addition to the broad concerns about the impact of the Wuhan coronavirus, political uncertainty in key markets prompted investors to pull back.
Topic Industry News
EPFR Fund Flows
The Bond Fund bandwagon rolled on during the third week of the New Year, extending a run that has seen them post 55 straight weeks of inflows that total $775 billion. Although flows have moderated since the first week of the year, when this fund group absorbed a record-setting $23 billion, were they to maintain their current weekly average for the rest of the year total inflows would exceed $900 billion. EPFR-tracked Equity Funds, meanwhile, posted consecutive weekly inflows for only the sixth time since the beginning of 3Q19. In geographic terms, the bulk of the fresh money went to the two biggest diversified groups, Global and Global Emerging Markets (GEM) Equity Funds. Investors showed more conviction when it came to sectors, with four of the 11 major groups attracting over $1 billion, and they remain enamored of funds with socially responsible (SRI) or environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates which chalked up their third weekly inflow record since the beginning of October. Overall, investors steered a net $8.4 billion into Equity Funds during the week ending January 22 with half of that going to SRI/ESG Equity Funds while flows to Dividend Equity Funds hit a YTD high. Balanced, Money Market and Bond Funds absorbed $443 million, $11.2 billion and $16.2 billion respectively.
Topic Industry News
EPFR Fund Flows
The second week of 2020 saw US President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He sign the first of what is expected to be a series of trade deals between the world’s two largest economies. It also saw seven of the eight major regional Equity Fund groups tracked by EPFR record inflows that ranged from $228 million for Latin America Equity Funds to $6.3 billion for Global Equity Funds. The renewed appetite for exposure to equities was not fueled by a rotation out of fixed income funds. Although down from last week’s record-setting total, Bond Funds still attracted over $16 billion. Since the beginning of last year, they have compiled a 54-week, $721 billion inflow streak with $495 billion of that total going to US Bond Funds. Overall, EPFR-tracked Equity Funds took in a net $12.5 billion during the week ending Jan. 15, Bond Funds $16.5 billion, Alternative Funds $724 million and Balanced Funds $33 million while $23.8 billion flowed out of Money Market Funds. Investors continue to pour money into funds with socially responsible (SRI) or environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates, with the latest week’s total the third highest on record. Personal conviction, the benefits of an additional layer of due diligence and solid performance are all factors in the strong run SRI/ESG funds are enjoying.
Topic Industry News
EPFR Fund Flows
A single swallow does not make a summer, nor does a single week establish a flow trend. But, after a year when Bond and Money Market Funds both set new annual inflow records while Developed Markets Equity Funds experienced record setting redemptions despite their strong overall performance, 2020 started with Bond Funds setting a new weekly inflow record and Money Market Funds absorbing over $45 billion. Developed Markets Equity Funds, meanwhile, posted their second outflow in the past three weeks. Within the fixed income universe tracked by EPFR, US Bond Funds posted their biggest inflow since 1Q15 and Canada Bond Funds on record. At the asset class level, Municipal Bond Funds also set a new inflow mark while Bank Loan Funds snapped a redemption streak stretching back to mid-4Q18. Investors showed more conviction at the sector level, with 10 of the 11 major groups attracting fresh money. The last time that happened was the second week of October and, before that, 1Q16. Overall, the week ending January 8 saw Bond Funds take in a net $22.5 billion and Money Market Funds $47.2 billion while investors redeemed $93 million from Alternative Funds and $206 million from Balanced Funds. Despite the 11th consecutive weekly inflow for Emerging Markets Equity Funds and the 53rd in a row for funds with socially responsible (SRI) or environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates, Equity Funds collectively recorded a modest outflow.
Topic Industry News
EPFR Fund Flows
December 2019 ended with the benchmark US equity indexes up between 22% and 35%, the Euro Stoxx 50 sitting on a 26% gain for the year and the MSCI All World Index just off a record high. But anyone looking solely at mutual fund flows would be forgiven for wondering if 2019 had seen a repeat of the economic conditions that defined 2008 and 2009 as investors shunned Equity Funds for Bond Funds, which posted their second full-year inflow record in the past three years, and Money Market Funds which eclipsed the old inflow mark set in 2009. Collectively, the Equity Funds tracked by EPFR gained over 23% during the year versus 7% for all Bond Funds and 0.7% for all Money Market Funds. But, with growing numbers of people entering retirement in North America, Europe and Japan, retail investors saw stock market gains as a chance to cash out positions and rotate their gains to safer vehicles. Demographic trends cut both ways in 2019, with the growing impact of millennial investors – and their preferences – driving record-setting sums into funds with socially responsible (SRI) or environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandate.
Topic Industry News
EPFR Fund Flows
EPFR-tracked UK Equity Funds extended their current inflow streak to 11 weeks and $6.5 billion during the week ending on Christmas day as investors responded to the ruling Conservative Party’s pledge to swiftly wrap up the country’s exit from the European Union before the current, third extension expires at the end of January. Hopes an initial trade deal between China and the US will be signed in the next three weeks, meanwhile, kept the money rolling into Emerging Markets Equity and Bond Funds which took in a net $4.2 billion between them. That took their combined total over the past two weeks to $12.1 billion. Although hopes for peace on the Sino-US trade front helped to lift US equity indexes to fresh record highs, US Equity Funds posted their biggest outflow in over a year despite only the second retail inflow since late 2Q17. Overall, the week ending Dec. 25 saw EPFR-tracked Equity Funds experience net redemptions of $14.4 billion, with Dividend Equity Funds posting their biggest outflow since mid-March. Investors also pulled $167 million out of Alternative Funds and $17 billion out of Money Market Funds while steering $740 million into Balanced Funds and another $10.8 billion into Bond Funds. Once again, Equity Funds with socially responsible (SRI) or environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates swam against the tide, adding another $2 billion to their year-to-date total.
Topic Industry News
EPFR Fund Flows
There was plenty for investors to ponder during the third week of December as the US House of Representatives approved articles of impeachment for President Donald Trump, UK voters gave the ruling Conservative Party a clear majority and the outlines of an initial Sino-US trade deal were announced. The announcement of the first step in a phased deal between China and US boosted flows to EPFR-tracked Emerging Markets Equity and Bond Funds. In the case of EM Equity Funds, overall inflows were the biggest since mid-1Q18 as flows into dedicated China Equity Funds hit their highest level in over seven months. Emerging Markets Bond Funds, meanwhile, recorded their biggest inflow since early February. With the Boris Johnson-led Conservatives now in a position to honor their electoral pledge “to get Brexit done”, flows into UK Equity Funds during the week ending Dec. 18 exceeded the $1 billion mark for only the fourth time since the beginning of 2Q18. Investors also pulled over $1 billion out of Europe ex-UK Regional Funds while committing fresh money to regional funds whose mandates encompass the UK. Overall, investors steered $14.8 billion into all EPFR-tracked Equity Funds as those with socially responsible (SRI) or environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates posted their fourth record high since the beginning of September. Alternative Funds collectively took in $622 million and Bond Funds $6.2 billion. A net $1.19 billion flowed out of Balanced Funds and $48.1 billion from Money Market Funds.
Topic Industry News
