Institutional fund outflows accelerate to $120 billion in second-quarter

By Claire Milhench

LONDON (Reuters) - Outflows from institutional asset managers accelerated in the second quarter to $120 billion, data from research provider eVestment showed on Thursday, as investors dumped U.S. stocks and actively managed equity strategies.

The firm, which tracks more than $37 trillion in institutional money globally, uses data reported to it by asset managers overseeing money for pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds and foundations.

The second quarter outflows were widely distributed across investor types and geographies, and up from a revised $75.1 billion in the first quarter.

"While still only a fraction of the trillions institutional investors control, this multi-billion-dollar outflow from traditional strategies and products in the first half of this year could be a sign investors are increasingly looking at alternative investment options or holding onto cash," eVestment said.

Equity strategies reported net outflows of $110.1 billion, almost double the redemptions reported in the first quarter. Investors pulled $72.1 billion from U.S. equity, whilst actively managed equity strategies reported net outflows of $111.1 billion.

Fixed income products reported net inflows of $13 billion, a reversal of the $1.1 billion of outflows reported in the first quarter. This was mainly driven by net inflows of $38.8 billion into U.S. bonds, as global fixed income strategies reported net outflows of $12.2 billion.

UK fixed income attracted inflows of $4.9 billion and UK stocks saw outflows of $6.2 billion, but eVestment said the full extent of Britain's vote to leave the European Union on June 23 was not reflected in the figures.

Emerging market equities saw outflows for the fifth consecutive quarter, with redemptions over the last year totaling $28.2 billion.

All types of institutional client were net sellers, with public funds dumping $19.5 billion, corporates withdrawing $18.8 billion and sovereign wealth funds redeeming $15.8 billion.

(Reporting by Claire Milhench; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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