Positive vaccine news keeps flows buoyant in mid-November
With hopes rising that two, if not three, vaccines that are over 90% effective against the COVID-19 virus will be available for use by year’s end, US equity markets hit a new record high and EPFR-tracked Equity Funds continued to enjoy strong inflows during the week ending Nov. 18. But investors also paid more attention to the economic damage that may occur between the peak of the pandemic’s second wave and sufficiently widespread vaccination, especially in Europe, which capped the latest week’s Equity Fund inflows at 60% of the previous week’s record-setting total.
Sentiment towards emerging markets, anchored by China’s return to growth, remains on the mend and has picked up a tailwind from expectations that 2021 will see more travel thanks to the deployment of vaccines, thereby boosting tourism and oil prices. Emerging Markets Equity Funds posted their ninth consecutive inflow and Emerging Markets Bond Funds their 19th in the past 21 weeks. Emerging Markets Money Market Funds are also enjoying solid inflows and are on course to set a new full-year record, with Asia ex-Japan Funds seeing the biggest inflows in cash terms and Latin America Equity Funds in % of AUM terms.

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