Investors are moving out of European ETFs as ongoing risks to the bloc continue to weigh on sentiment.
Risks such as Brexit, a German recession, the ongoing issues in Italy and the impact of slowing growth spooked investors last week.
In the week to 26 April, four ETFs offering exposure to Europe were in the top 10 ETFs listed in Europe that saw the most outflows, according to data from Ultumus.
Coming second in the top 10 was the iShares MSCI Europe ex-UK UCITS ETF EUR (IEUX), which saw outflows of $340m. This was closely followed by the UBS ETF MSCI EMU UCITS ETF (UIM4) with $174m outflows.
Also in the top 10 was the UBS ETF (CH) MSCI Switzerland ETF (SWICHA) with $154m outflows while the iShares EURO STOXX 50 UCITS ETF EUR (EUUSBH) witnessed negative flows of $119m.
Market sentiment towards European stocks remains low. According to the latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey, betting against European stocks was named the most crowded trade in April for a second month in a row.
This comes as no surprise considering the International Monetary Fund downgraded growth in eurozone to 1.3% this year, earlier this month, while European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has been warning of “slower growth momentum in the eurozone.
Following the ECB’s decision to halt its €2.5trn bond-buying programme at the end of last year, the Bank has been forced to backtrack on its plans to tighten monetary policy later this year with Draghi adding risks were “to the downside”.
Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy remains a key risk for the bloc. The government recently cut its growth forecast for this year to 0.5%, the slowest growth rate since 2013 when the eurozone was coming out of the debt crisis.
The ETF which saw the most outflows last week was the Lyxor S&P 500 ETF (LSPX) with $624m redemptions, almost double the number compared to the second highest.
