Appetite for foreign equities growing in US
US equity investors have shifted a record proportion of their funds into foreign share markets this year as investors chase returns from overseas and emerging markets which have been outstripping those on Wall Street.
Of the $4,800bn in equities held by US mutual fund investors, $811bn, or 17 per cent, sit in funds containing foreign companies, according to AMG Data Services, which monitors mutual fund flows.
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"This is the highest percentage of international securities holdings by domestic mutual funds on record," Robert Adler, AMG's president, said yesterday.
It also represents a doubling of this share since August 2000.
AMG data also show that of the $124bn invested so far this year into US equity mutual funds, including exchange traded funds, fully $110bn, or 89 per cent, has gone into funds investing in overseas companies.
This compares in 2005 with $86bn invested in funds containing international equities, or 60 per cent of the total of $147.5bn invested in US mutual funds.
Other data services also show a strong appetite for foreign equities among US domestic investors. As of August 31, 86.8 per cent of $118.56bn in total equity flows for this year has migrated offshore, according to the Investment Company Institute.
Mr Adler said the shift into foreign equities gathered pace in 2005 as the value of the US dollar fell. "Investors felt they could take advantage of a forex play," he said.
From January to April, net purchases of foreign stocks by US funds averaged $16bn-$18bn a month.
After global equity markets tumbled in May, US investors withdrew money in June. But they resumed buying foreign equities in July and August, with net purchases reaching $4.4bn and $0.5bn in those months.
美国投资者对外国股票兴趣升温
随着投资者纷纷追逐海外市场和新兴市场上高于华尔街的回报，美国股票投资者今年转移至外国股市的资金比例已达创纪录水平。
监测共同基金流向的AMG数据服务公司(AMG Data Services)称，在美国共同基金投资者持有的4.8万亿美元股票资产中，有8110亿美元（即17%）是包含外国公司的基金。
AMG总裁罗伯特?阿德勒(Robert Adler)昨日表示：“这是有史以来美国国内共同基金持有海外证券资产的最高比例。”
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这一数据还表明，自2000年8月以来该比例增加了一倍。
AMG的数据同时显示，今年到目前为止，在流入美国股票共同基金（包括交易所交易基金）的1240亿美元资金中，有1100亿美元（即89%）投向投资于海外公司的基金。
