BofA clients sold equities last week, led by retail outflows; buybacks hit record high

BofA Securities clients were modest net sellers of U.S. equities last week, with outflows totaling $0.3 billion, despite the S&P 500 gaining 4.0%.

When excluding untagged flows, which are not categorized by sector, client group, or size, there was net buying in both individual stocks and equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs). While small and mid-cap stocks experienced outflows, large caps saw inflows.

Similar to the previous week, both retail and institutional clients were net sellers, with retail seeing its largest net sales since November 2023. On the other hand, hedge fund clients were small net buyers for the second week in a row.

Clients made purchases across six of the 11 sectors, with Technology and Communication Services leading the way. The latter sector has now seen 24 consecutive weeks of net buying.

In contrast, Industrials and Real Estate experienced the largest outflows, with Industrials seeing outflows in nine of the last ten weeks and Real Estate for the past four weeks.

Utilities saw near-record inflows, marking the largest weekly inflow since August 2022 and the fifth-largest on record since 2008. BofA recently upgraded Utilities to an Overweight rating.

In the ETF space, clients bought funds across Growth, Value, and Blend styles, with Value maintaining a 26-week buying streak.

Large and small-cap ETFs attracted inflows, while mid-cap and broad market ETFs faced selling pressure.

Similar to individual stocks, Industrial ETFs experienced the largest outflows since January 2019, and Real Estate ETFs saw their biggest outflows since April after recent inflows driven by private clients. Meanwhile, Technology ETFs recorded the largest inflows.

Corporate buybacks picked up pace, reaching their highest weekly level since late June. The trailing 52-week buybacks as a percentage of the S&P 500 market cap hit a record high, surpassing 2019 levels.

Source: Investing.com