(Reuters) – U.S. equity funds witnessed robust demand in the week through March 26 as signals of a more measured tariff approach from the Trump administration helped shift investor focus back to prospects of growth in corporate earnings.
Investors acquired U.S. equity funds of a net $22.24 billion, the most for a week since November 13, following $33.53 billion worth of net sales in the prior week, data from LSEG Lipper showed.
However, later in the week, U.S. stocks turned turbulent, after President Donald Trump announced a 25% import tax on foreign-made vehicles and auto parts.
Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, expects near-term volatility to persist but sees U.S. equities outperforming Europe and Asia for the rest of 2025.
“Despite tariff risks, we are confident about U.S. economic prospects and the earnings growth potential for leading AI companies”.
Investors poured $23.1 billion into U.S. large-cap equity funds, reversing the prior week’s net outflows of $27.38 billion.
Small-cap and multi-cap funds also attracted $3.07 billion and $105 million, respectively, while mid-cap funds posted modest net outflows of $74 million.
U.S. sectoral equity funds, however, saw $1.96 billion in net outflows, led by consumer discretionary funds, which registered the largest weekly disposal in five weeks at $737 million.
Meanwhile, outflows from U.S. bond funds accelerated, with investors pulling $2.97 billion, up from $513 million in the prior week.
Short-to-intermediate government and Treasury funds saw $176 million in redemptions, ending a 13-week streak of inflows.
General domestic taxable fixed income and loan participation funds posted significant outflows of $1.25 billion and $780 million, respectively.
In contrast, money market funds attracted $2.52 billion—their first weekly inflow in three weeks.
At the same time, money market funds received a net $2.52 billion, the first weekly inflow in three weeks.
(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
