U.S. equity funds experienced the most pronounced weekly net sales in eight weeks during the seven-day period ending March 4, with investors cutting exposure in response to rising geopolitical uncertainty tied to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran and worries about its possible repercussions for inflation and the interest-rate outlook.
Data from LSEG Lipper show a net divestment of $21.92 billion from U.S. equity funds for the week, the largest weekly net sales figure since Jan. 7. As the conflict in the Middle East entered its seventh day on Friday, oil prices were on track for their biggest weekly gains since early 2022, a development that heightened investor concerns that inflation could be reignited and that the U.S. Federal Reserve might delay planned rate reductions.
Within equity categories, U.S. growth funds recorded $11.15 billion in outflows, marking their largest weekly withdrawals since Dec. 17, 2025. By contrast, investors still purchased $146 million of value funds, representing a fourth consecutive week of net buying in that style.
Flows into sectoral funds reflected a rotation toward perceived more defensive or economically sensitive pockets: sectoral funds saw weekly inflows of $1.2 billion as investors added industrials, utilities, and metals and mining positions. The weekly purchases in those sectors amounted to $1.65 billion for industrials, $671 million for utilities and $582 million for metals and mining, respectively.
Safe-haven demand was evident in the money market space, where weekly inflows rose to $22.51 billion, an eight-week high, as investors moved cash into short-term, liquid instruments.
Fixed income also attracted fresh capital, with U.S. bond funds recording a ninth consecutive week of net purchases totaling $7.29 billion. Notable areas of demand within the bond complex included short-to-intermediate investment-grade funds, municipal debt funds, and short-to-intermediate government and treasury funds, which saw net purchases of $1.71 billion, $1.44 billion and $929 million, respectively.
The pattern of flows over the week highlights a market shifting away from broad equity exposure toward cash and selective sector and bond allocations amid heightened geopolitical risk and concerns about oil-driven inflation pressures that could affect the timing of central bank policy moves.