Market factor

Fund manager survey (BofA)

Impact tier: 3 — Flows and mechanics
Category: Positioning, sentiment, and fund flows
Watch: Cash levels; most-crowded trade; equity allocation
Frequency: monthly
Effect lasts: weeks

Fund manager survey (BofA). Cash above 5% is a buy signal, below 4% a sell signal, by the survey's own rules.

What to watch: Cash levels; most-crowded trade; equity allocation. It arrives monthly, and the effect typically lasts weeks.

It sits in tier 3 — Flows and mechanics: Moves prices without changing anything fundamental, on horizons from hours to weeks. Who is forced to buy or sell, and when. Ignore this tier and market moves will regularly look inexplicable.

Primary source — business.bofa.com ↗

Its neighbourhood

Everything this entry connects to directly. Click any point to follow it.

Dials it feeds

This factor is one input to a composite reading on the Analytics page.

Risk appetite and positioningWho already owns this, and what are they forced to do next?

Also in Positioning, sentiment, and fund flows

Implied volatility (VIX)Tier 3
Put/call ratioTier 3
Retail investor sentiment (AAII)Tier 3
Active manager exposure (NAAIM)Tier 3
Fear and greed compositesTier 3
Fund flowsTier 3
Margin debtTier 3
Short interestTier 3
CTA and trend-following positioningTier 3
Volatility-control and risk-parity fundsTier 3
Dealer gamma positioningTier 3
Foreign investor flowsTier 3
Sovereign wealth funds and pension allocationTier 3
Retail trading activityTier 3
Crypto marketsTier 3
ESG and thematic fund flowsTier 4
Pension funding statusTier 3
Retail options and leveraged ETF flowsTier 3
Market breadthTier 3
Factor and style rotationTier 3