Using EPFR and CEIC data to analyze the August 2024 correction

The first two months of 2024 saw Japan, India, Technology and China Equity Funds absorb a net $5.2 billion, $10.7 billion, $14.1 billion and $44.6 billion, respectively, while US Equity Funds pulled in a minimal $3.4 billion. During the final two months of last year, however, US Equity Funds added $174 billion as they set a new full-year inflow record while flows to the other groups ranged from an outflow of over $10 billion for Japan Equity Funds to an inflow of $2.2 billion for China Equity Funds.

It was a mixed Christmas for the major EPFR-tracked fund groups as technical factors reversed a significant chunk of the previous week’s record-setting inflows to Equity Funds and the sell-off in primary debt markets crimped flows to Bond Funds while Money Market Funds added to their year-to-date total and Balanced Funds posted their biggest weekly inflow since mid 1Q22.

With the Syrian civil war reaching – at least for now – a prompt resolution, China adopting a looser monetary stance, and both the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank expected to cut interest rates by another 25 basis points before the New Year, investors found some things to cheer about during the first full week of December.