Hedge Funds, Institutions Led Net Buying of Equities Last Week as Retail Investors Sold

Clients of Bank of America Securities were net buyers of U.S. equities last week for the second straight week, snapping up $2.7 billion worth of stocks as the S&P 500 rallied, climbing 3.9%. Although single stocks captured the larger inflows, clients also bought equity exchange-traded funds.

Hedge funds, institutions lead the purchases

In their latest "Equity Client Flow Trends" report, BofAS strategists Jill Carey Hall and Nicolas Woods said BofAS clients bought stocks across market capitalizations, with large, to mid, to small caps seeing inflows. However, it was the fourth consecutive week of inflows for large caps and the third for small and mid caps. Hedge funds and institutional investors were net buyers for the second straight week and the first time in three weeks. On the other hand, private clients were net sellers for a second consecutive week.