Investors Gravitating to Developed Stock Markets

Investors have begun to embrace developed markets, Reuters reports.

“Flows do not suggest that investors are nervous that prices have gotten ahead of themselves,” according to a report from State Street. “If anything, the opposite is true.”

Within its own company, State Street said, flows into equities have been strong, particularly into domestic equities.

“This represents the highest level of developed market inflows since the early summer of 2008,” State Street said. “Long neglected countries, such as Japan, are once more the recipients of cross-border equity capital.”

EPFR Global estimates that equity funds took in $9.54 billion in the week ended May 13. “Funds geared to developed markets enjoyed one of their better weeks, year-to-date, with Japan equity funds having their best week since late in the third quarter of 2008, and both U.S. and Europe equity funds absorbed over $2 billion, EPFR Global said.