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- Investors pumped $56.76 billion into US equities in the week that ended March 17.
- ETF inflows also jumped to $2.91 billion after seeing outflows of $1.37 billion the week prior.
- Inflation concerns didn't seem to slow down investors' appetite for US equities.
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Investors piled a record $56.76 billion into US stocks during the week ended March 17 amid inflation-fueled volatility, according to a recent report from Bank of America.
US equity inflows jumped 237% during the period, up from $16.83 billion the week prior.
Inflows to exchange-traded funds also jumped on the week to $2.91 billion after last week saw ETF outflows of $1.37 billion. The record inflow came as inflation concerns rocked markets this week causing increased volatility.
As a result, investors might be looking to avoid holding cash, which could be might be adding to record US stock inflows. Ray Dalio, co-chief investment officer at Bridgewater Associates, even said he believes "cash is and will continue to be trash" in a recent blog post.
Investors' fear of inflation wasn't helped by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's comments in the Wednesday Federal Reserve meeting either.
Powell raised the Core Personal Consumption Expenditure (Core PCE) Price Index inflation target to 2.2% and committed to maintaining ultra-low interest rates and aggressive asset repurchases.
On top of that, some investors and economists feel the Fed's inflation targets are "optimistic."
Former Federal Reserve special adviser, and current Dartmouth economics professor, Andrew Levin called Powell's Wednesday comments "stale" and argued inflation is already hovering around 2%.
The professor said he believes inflation could hit 2.75% by year-end and the Fed may need to act to keep it in check.
Big-name investors like PIMCO co-founder Bill Gross also added to inflation concerns. Gross said he believes inflation could be as high as 4% in the coming months.
The record US equity inflows this week came amid a wave of new stimulus checks that went out over the weekend and through the beginning of the week as well.
A survey from Mizuho found that $40 billion of stimulus funds could end up in stocks and bitcoin. And a survey from Self Financial found that "$98 billion, or 24.3% of the $403.7 billion being sent in our stimulus checks, is potentially going to find its way into either the cryptocurrency or stock markets."