{
  "id": 3163057,
  "title": "Investor bullishness surges as BofA survey shows cash levels near historic lows",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/investor-bullishness-surges-as-bofa-survey-shows-cash-levels-near",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-23T14:18:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Finance",
    "slug": "yahoo-finance",
    "url": "https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/articles/investor-bullishness-surges-bofa-survey-141800790.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Investor sentiment has reached its third-highest level since 2022, based on the Bank of America's August Global Fund Manager Survey. Cash holdings in portfolios have hit historic lows, sitting at 3.5% of assets under management, down from 3.6% in July. This has triggered the Global FMS Cash Rule, indicating a sell signal when cash allocations hit 4.0% or lower. Meanwhile, global equity exposure surged to a 56% overweight, the highest since November 2021. Fund managers have kept an overweight position in equities for 14 straight months. Confidence in the economic outlook has grown significantly, with a record 56% of respondents predicting a \"no landing\" scenario, and 43% expecting a \"boom,\" the highest percentage since February 2022. Strategists, led by Michael Hartnett, noted that the market consensus is focused on avoiding a \"macro landing,\" a Fed rate hike, AI capital expenditure cuts, a DEM sweep, and bearish sentiment. The Federal Reserve's policy approach has become more relaxed, with 72% of surveyed fund managers expecting no interest rate hikes before the November midterms, up from July. However, opinions differ on how Fed Chair Kevin Warsh will conduct himself at the upcoming Jackson Hole symposium, with 53% expecting a neutral tone, 31% anticipating a hawkish stance, and only 7% predicting a dovish message. Risk appetite remains robust despite lingering concerns about AI. Global semiconductor stocks are the most crowded trade, with 53% of respondents favoring them, down from 82% in July. AI remains the largest tail risk, cited by 32% of fund managers, while 38% believe AI hyperscalers' capital expenditure could trigger a systemic credit event. Despite these concerns, investors don't expect immediate AI investment reductions; 71% believe no hyperscaler will cut capital expenditure this year, and 58% don't foresee significant AI disruption to labor markets before 2028. Portfolio shifting towards technology, banks, and energy during August, while industrial and healthcare exposures were reduced. Gold has become increasingly attractive on valuation grounds, with 16% of respondents considering it undervalued, the strongest reading since March 2023. BofA strategists recommended several contrarian trades in August, such as favoring bonds over commodities, Consumer Staples over Technology, Consumer Discretionary over banks, and U.K. equities over U.S. stocks.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}