Sovereign wealth funds pulled $18.4 billion (£14.1 billion) from global stock and bond markets in the first quarter of 2017, notwithstanding robust equity gains in this period, data from research firm eVestment showed on Thursday,
Oil-backed sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have been under pressure since oil prices LCOc1 tumbled from their mid-2014 highs of $115 to around $52 a barrel, with governments tapping state funds to close budget gaps.
Global SWF assets effectively stalled at $6.59 trillion in the 12 months to March 2017, data from research firm Preqin showed in April, due to a combination of weak markets, low oil prices and shifts in government policy.
The latest figures from eVestment, which collates data from around 4,400 firms managing money on behalf of institutional investors, showed that selling by SWFs resumed in the first quarter after modest net inflows of $382.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.
