Japanese Investors Bail Out of Equity Funds

Individual investors in Japan are selling their stock funds, according to a survey conducted by Nomura Research Institute (NRI), as reported by Reuters.

NRI data indicated that the stock funds have been losing tens of millions of dollars per day in recent weeks. The specific numbers are estimated to be from $42 million to $59 million dollars daily for the month of June.

This is in stark contrast to the rapid inflow of cash to stock funds in the U.S., following a fairly substantial stock market rally of 26% since March.

An analyst at NRI suggested to Reuters that the reason behind the drastic outflow is that the Japanese individual investors are selling off their stock funds, due to their unhappiness with recent performance.

It is suggested that international investors have been a main factor in the Japanese market’s recent upswing, with the Nikkei average closing at a six-month high of 9,110.51 at the end of the day on Thursday. Many global investors are seeking out riskier assets, which could explain the current situation.

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The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.

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