What Does It Mean When Investors Sit in Lots of Cash?

Source: @giorgiotrovato

Why Is Everybody Sitting on Huge Piles of Cash?
Despite a plethora of bubble talk, chatter about high cyclically adjusted price-earnings valuations and market tops, investors have been carrying an awful lot of cash.
Bloomberg, December 10, 2013

Consider this interesting divergence: Despite a plethora of bubble talk, chatter about high CAPE valuations, and market tops, investors have been carrying an awful lot of cash. This is not a new phenomenon, but rather, has been a persistent condition since this most hated rally in Wall St history began.

Before we proceed with the details, let me forewarn you what this column is not: It is not a “Cash on the Sidelines” argument. As we have discussed previously, there is ALWAYS cash on the sidelines. It is a lagging, not leading, indicator. When an investor buys an asset, it means the other side of the trade sells that asset. The cash merely transfers from one account to another. I don’t pay garner much insight from sideline cash until it reaches extreme deviations from historical means in individual investor allocations.

Regardless, it has not escaped my notice that a variety of surveys from major firms has revealed a lot of investment dollars is sitting in cash. Us Trust, Black Rock, UBS and American Express have all made similar discoveries, especially amongst high net worth/high income investors. What makes this so significant is the psychological component to this.

Before we proceed with the details, let me warn you what this column is not: It is not a “Cash on the Sidelines” argument. As we have discussed previously, there is ALWAYS cash on the sidelines. It is a lagging, not a leading, indicator. When an investor buys an asset, it means the other side of the trade sells that asset. The cash merely transfers from one account to another. I don’t garner much insight from sideline cash until it reaches extreme deviations from historical means in individual investor allocations.

Regardless, it has not escaped my notice that a variety of surveys from major firms has revealed a lot of investment dollars is sitting in cash. U.S. Trust, BlackRock, UBS and American Express have all made similar discoveries, especially among high net worth/high income investors. What makes this so significant is the psychological component.

How can we have a stock bubble — irrational exuberance, animal spirits, whatever — when the biggest, most affluent investors are so scared they are sitting in that much cash?

And we are talking about A LOT of cash:

• American Express found in 2012 that affluent Americans (at least $100,000 in disposable income) had at least $6 trillion in cash savings; they estimate this number “could balloon to $12 trillion by 2014.”

• U.S. Trust: Annual “Insights on Wealth and Worth” survey (respondents have assets of $3 million or more, with 33 percent worth more than $10 million). Of this group, 56 percent said they have “substantial amounts of funds in cash accounts.” Even more millennials (69 percent) do than baby boomers (52 percent).

• BlackRock found 56 percent of affluent investors have “substantial” amounts of cash, with 35 percent of their assets in cash or savings accounts. Perhaps more surprising is that 32 percent of affluent investors globally expect to increase cash positions and savings account deposits over the next 12 months, versus 17 percent who expect to reduce cash.

• UBS Wealth Management noted that 28 percent of client assets remained in cash in Q3 this year. That is “barely less than the 31 percent reported at the end of 2011, when the eurozone crisis was near its fiercest,” according to the Financial Times.

Risk aversion remains a factor. The FT noted that 49 percent of global affluent investors “did not want to take any risk with their money.” This risk aversion was lowest amongst affluent Americans (34 percent), highest among the French and Italians (64 and 59 percent, respectively). Perhaps this helps to explain the relative performances of the S&P 500 versus the CAC 40 and the IBEX 35.

Note that it is not just the wealthy who are hoarding cash. Those with an annual income of less than $45,000 are sitting in approximately 60 percent cash, according to this BlackRock survey. To be accurate, this group has been under considerable economic pressure the past few years. A recent poll found American households use “49 percent of their take-home pay to cover bills, debt and living expenses,” far above the global average of 40 percent. One would have to assume debt is part of the reason they do not have substantial non-cash investments.

I have not found persuasive the argument that cash on the sidelines was bullish — except when it reaches extremes in individual investor asset allocations (The American Association of Individual Investors does a nice job tracking this). However, these substantial amounts of held cash, according to multiple surveys, make me further doubt the claims of an equity bubble. The psychology of a frenzy does not appear to be present — yet.

After many years of equity outflows, accompanied by enormous inflows into fixed income, we have only this year begun to see inflows back to stocks. And, this condition could potentially continue for many years.

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I originally published this at Bloomberg, December 10, 2013. All of my Bloomberg columns can be found here and here.