Australian banks are having their toughest time attracting investors, according to new analysis from Copley Fund Research, which monitors flows in funds with $1.2 trillion under management.
An exodus by fund managers has left 91% of the 430 funds in Copley’s global analysis with zero exposure to the sector. That’s the lowest take-up on record. On average, allocations to the industry are equivalent to just 0.05% of global funds.
“Regulatory concerns, faltering housing markets and a low interest rate environment have prompted global investors to all but throw in the towel on their Australian bank investments,” said Steven Holden, CEO of Copley Fund Research. “Opportunities elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region are proving more attractive, such as Singapore and India.”
Copley Fund Research provides data and analysis on global fund positioning, fund flows and fund performance.
This report is based on the latest published filings as of 31 August 2019 from three fund categories:
Global: $800bn total AUM, 432 funds
Global EM: $350bn total AUM, 193 funds
Asia Ex-Japan: $65bn total AUM, 104 funds
But they are so well run, so profitable and so superbly regulated.
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.