Reply #31: Fund managers more risk averse, shun U.S. - Merrill [View All]

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http://today.reuters.com/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=uri:2005-10-18T133106Z_01_L1882185_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-INVESTORS-MERRILL.XML

LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Investors are shunning U.S. equities at a rate not seen for six years, seeing them as expensive and threatened by poor profits and higher interest rates, a Merrill Lynch survey showed on Tuesday.

The investment bank also said its October survey generally showed growing risk aversion among the 311 fund managers it quizzes. Between them, the respondents manage more than $1 trillion in assets.

"What stuck out this month is how much people don't want U.S. equities. Anything but America," said David Bowers, Merrill's chief global investment strategist.

Japan, in particular, and the euro zone remained popular.

The survey showed 63 percent of respondents were underweight in U.S. equities, up from 54 percent a month earlier. Additionally, nearly a quarter of respondents described themselves as "aggressively" underweight in the asset class.

Merrill said that in net terms, subtracting the number of respondents who were underweight from those who were overweight, the finding on U.S. equities was the most negative in the survey for six years.

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