Bank of America recently produced a note examining their client behavior for indications of investor sentient, and it found investors did not behave as if they thought a recession was imminent.
According to an examination of the flows during selloff days, Bank of America clients were overall buyers, as retail investors led the way.
According to a BofA data analytics note, “Last week, during which the S&P 500 fell -1.2%, BofA Securities clients were net buyers of U.S. equities ($0.7B) after selling the rally the prior week. Clients bought single stocks and sold ETFs.”
Retail clients bought stocks in eight of the eleven sectors, led by Tech and Consumer Discretionary while they sold Commodity-Oriented Industrials, and Energy, as well as Health Care equities.
According to the report, the investor actions show that a “recession isn’t imminent,” saying, “Clients don’t view recession as imminent: cyclical sector flows have continued to outpace defensive sector flows since last July.. Despite single stock outflows, Energy ETFs saw the largest inflows (biggest since mid March) and the longest buying streak of any sector ETF (5 wks).”