Survey: Institutional Investors Hoard Record Cash, US and UK Equities See Net Reduction
nashnova research
A global survey covering $5.76 trillion in assets shows nearly four in ten institutions plan to raise cash over the next year, while US and UK equities are the only two asset classes facing net selling — big money is shifting from offense to defense.
How extreme is the cash hoarding?
Marsh Investments surveyed 430 asset owners. 37.8% plan to increase cash holdings over the next 12 months — up from just 9% a year ago.
Net cash allocation intent — the share planning to add minus the share planning to cut — jumped 35.5 percentage points to positive 22%, the largest year-on-year swing of any asset class in the survey's history.
This means → this is not a handful of cautious funds. Managers overseeing trillions of dollars are turning in the same direction at once — toward cash.
Why are US and UK stocks being sold?
US and UK equities are the only two asset classes with negative net allocation intent — more institutions plan to cut than to add.
US equities sit at negative 10.3%; UK equities are worse at negative 16.5%.
In plain terms = "negative" means more managers want out than want in. These markets are not just seeing fewer buyers — they are seeing more sellers.
What are institutions afraid of?
The survey points to persistent inflation and geopolitical risk as the twin drivers — and neither has faded.
This reflects a shift in how large asset owners frame the environment: from "risks are manageable, stay invested" to "hold cash, wait for clarity."
In plain terms = when trillion-dollar institutions prefer earning almost nothing in cash over staying in equities, that is itself a vote on how they see current risk.
What does this mean for ordinary investors?
Institutional de-risking does not guarantee a market drop, but buying power is weakening — if markets fall, the institutional bid underneath will be thinner than usual.
This means → US and UK equities may lack large-capital-driven upside in the near term, while volatility could rise.
The record cash pile also carries a corollary: once risks clear, the wall of sidelined money flowing back in could fuel an equally sharp rebound.
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