The buzzword from big American fund houses these days is capitulation, as in US investors are giving up faith in equities. More capitulation is good news, because it means that the bear market is closer to the end than the beginning, say Citigroup Asset Management and Merrill Lynch executives.
Last week, Merrill Lynch examined the results of its monthly poll of 298 fund managers and analysts responsible for $702 billion of assets under management. David Bowers, chief global investment strategist, says, The optimism overhang has been eliminated.
He notes fund managers' profit expectations, instead of continuing in freefall, have stabilized, with 48% now expecting some sort of economic rebound in the next 12 months....
