Americans Kept Investments at Home: BAC

Amid 2022’s dismal stock performance, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) clients were net buyers of U.S. equities, according to a Wednesday note by Savita Subramanian.

Securities clients of the firm bought $69 billion in U.S. equities. Corporate, institutional and private clients were also net buyers of equities, with the last seeing the first inflows since 2017. Clients bought in eight of 11 sectors, with technology and communication services seeing the largest inflows. Industrials, financials and utilities saw outflows.

That signals that the market has not yet hit its low, according to the note. While BofA’s sell side indicator has slipped, it’s not yet at a “buy,” which would mean market capitulation.

In addition, corporate buybacks slowed relative to 2021.

One expert this week declared BAC an easy buy, saying “Bank of America is a conservatively run and well-managed bank, which is one of the biggest beneficiaries of higher interest rates. BAC lends to people and businesses with good credit profiles and earnings prospects, keeping its risk of major losses in a recession manageable. The bank has one of the most attractive deposit bases in the industry, with relatively high proportions of deposits that earn very little in interest.”

BAC shares advanced 46 cents, or 1.3%, to $33.97