Investors in Thailand have poured money back into fixed income funds, which saw net inflows of THB 129.32bn ($4.06bn) during the first quarter this year, which compares to outflows of THB 150.7bn in 2018, according to data from Morningstar Direct.
Net inflows/outflows
| Asset class |
1Q 2019 (THB m) |
| Allocation / mixed-asset |
4,756 |
| Commodities |
-898 |
| Equity |
-14,432 |
| Fixed income |
129,323 |
| Miscellaneous |
-102 |
| Money market |
-23,476 |
| Total net flows |
95,171 |
Source: Morningstar Direct
Within fixed income, foreign investment bond fixed term products, as categorized by Morningstar, continue to be the most popular with first quarter inflows of THB 166.36bn.
However, global bond funds had outflows of THB 6.22bn during the same period.
Equity funds
Equity funds, which had the highest inflows last year of around THB 216.1bn, had net outflows in Q1.
Foreign equity funds continue to be popular among Thai investors, however. Foreign equity products account for four of the top 10 sub-categories by net inflows.
Top 10 sub-categories by net inflows
| Name |
1Q 2019 (THB m) |
| Foreign investment bond fixed term |
166,361 |
| Aggressive allocation |
21,496 |
| High yield bond fixed term |
3,607 |
| Bond fixed term |
3,551 |
| Property indirect |
2,191 |
| Japan equity |
596 |
| Global equity |
441 |
| Foreign investment equity fixed term |
186 |
| Asean equity |
181 |
| Capital protected |
1 |
On the flipside, China equity funds, which were among Thailand’s top foreign investment funds by net inflows in 2018, had net outflows in Q1, Morningstar data shows.
Bottom 10 sub-categories by net outflows
| Name |
1Q 2019 (THB m) |
| Short term bond |
(36,749) |
| Money market |
(23,476) |
| Global allocation |
(13,686) |
| Global bond |
(6,228) |
| Equity large-cap |
(3,242) |
| China equity |
(2,975) |
| Property – indirect global |
(2,710) |
| Conservative allocation |
(2,699) |
| Foreign investment miscellaneous |
(2,095) |
| Europe equity |
(1,127) |
Source: Morningstar Direct
