Emerging market funds lose $ 9 billion in past week: Data

Monday, 3 February 2014 01:42 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Investors yanked $ 9 billion from emerging stock and bond funds during a turbulent past week, with equities seeing their biggest outflow in two and half years, banks said on Friday citing data from Boston-based fund tracker EPFR Global. EPFR had released data to clients late on Thursday showing emerging equity funds lost $ 6.3 billion in the week to 29 January, the biggest weekly outflow since August 2011. This week has seen some major falls in emerging currencies’ exchange rates, with central banks forced into rate rises or market interventions to limit the swings. Those currency losses and rate rises have put pressure on bond and stock holdings, forcing exits. Year-to-date outflows from emerging stocks already amount to $ 12.2 billion, close to the $ 15 billion that fled during the whole of last year, the data showed. Index-tracking exchange traded funds (ETFs) accounted for two-thirds of the exodus. Equity funds tracked by EPFR have seen outflows for 14 straight weeks, matching a loss-making streak seen in the third quarter of 2002, banks said.

Debt funds likewise lost money, shedding $ 2.7 billion or 1.2% of their assets under management, banks said. That brings outflows so far in 2014 to $ 4.6 billion, compared with $ 14.3 billion for the whole of last year. MSCI’s benchmark equity index has fallen 6% this month, while data from JPMorgan indexes shows domestic emerging bond yields have risen 30 basis points and sovereign dollar bond yields have risen 40 bps. The turmoil has also spread to developed markets, where equity funds shed almost $ 5 billion in the week to Thursday.