DEVELOPING: Investor Cash Levels Jump Toward Levels Not Seen Since 9/11

Fears of a bond-market crash, a breakdown in globalization, a new crisis in the euro area? There were a bevy of reasons for fund managers to push their cash balances to 5.8 percent of their portfolios in October, up from 5.5 percent last month, matching levels not seen since the aftermath of the Brexit vote. The share of cash hasn’t been higher than that since

November 2001, shortly after the terrorist attacks in the U.S. The amount of dry powder in portfolios is above that seen during both Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis and the U.S. debt-ceiling debacle, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s monthly survey of money managers. FULL REPORT