Markets are still at record highs (with the Dow hitting it’s 6th day of record closes) but a report today showed that there is more cash out of equities & on the sidelines than there has been in nearly 15 years. Fund managers have gotten spooked since the Brexit vote & are taking a more conservative approach as to where to place investor money. According to the latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Cash Survey, cash levels are now at 5.8% of portfolios, up from June and at the highest levels since November 2001 as investors search for protection, hedging on their equities bets amid worries that global financial conditions are tightening around the world. Read more here.
Meantime, following the Brexit vote a few weeks ago where voters in the United Kingdom decided that the U.K. will leave the European Union, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) downgraded it’s forecast of world markets for this year and next.
Maurice Obstfeld, Director of Research for the IMF, was asked what worries him most about the Brexit vote.
See his response below.
Here are the final numbers from Tuesday, July 19th on Wall Street:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,559.01 (+25.96 / +0.14%)
NASDAQ: 5,036.37 (-19.41 / -0.38%)
S&P 500: 2,163.78 (-3.11/ -0.14%)
