Global investors stay 'uber-bullish' but warn companies are overinvesting

MILAN, Feb 17 - Global investors are increasingly worried that companies are overinvesting, just as market sentiment remains “uber‑bullish” and further asset gains look harder to achieve, Bank of America’s monthly fund manager survey showed on Tuesday.

The poll of 162 managers overseeing $440 billion found cash balances rose to 3.4% from January’s record‑low 3.2%, while investors stayed heavily overweight commodities and equities and deeply underweight bonds.

Macro optimism improved further, with expectations for a global “boom” at the highest since February 2022 and forecasts for earnings growth topping 10%, their strongest since 2021. But a record share of respondents said companies are spending too aggressively, and chief investment officers now favour strengthening balance sheets over increasing capital expenditure.

AI bubbles once again topped the list of investors’ biggest tail risks.