The market’s biggest investors are ‘paranoid’ that being long US tech stocks is now the ‘most crowded trade of all time,’ BofA says

• According to a fund manager survey conduced  by Bank of America, investors are “paranoid” that long US tech stocks is the “most crowded trade of all time,” citing 80% of survey respondents.
• Amid high tech concentration in popular stock market indexes like the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500, the second most popular response to tail-risks for the market is “tech bubble.”
• Still, a majority of investors say “It’s a bull market,” the survey said.
• Here are additional insights from the Bank of America September fund manager survey.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Bank of America’s September fund manager survey of 199 participants who manage $601 billion in assets is in, and one sticking point seems to be technology stocks.

According to the survey, investors are “paranoid tech,” with 80% of respondents saying it is “the most crowded trade” ever in the market.

And amid high tech concentration in popular stock market indexes like the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500, 22% of investors said they fear that the biggest “tail risk” for the market is a tech bubble, only behind 30% of respondents saying a second wave of COVID-19 is the biggest risk.

Just 10 stocks in the S&P 500 accounted for more than 50% of August’s 7.2% return, BofA highlighted in a note last week. The top five stocks responsible for those returns were Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and Salesforce.

Despite the heightened worry about tech and its sheer size as a percentage of the overall market, a majority of investors say we are now in a new bull market. Fifty-eight percent said “It’s a bull market,” a solid increase from last month’s reading of 46% for the same question.

Read More: Morgan Stanley pinpoints the most attractive opportunity it sees for investors as a new bull run takes shape - and shares 3 strategies for generating market-beating returns

Meanwhile, 29% of survey respondents said they believe the market is experiencing a “bear market rally,” marking a steady decline from last month’s reading of 35%. 

Technically, the stock market is in a new bull market given that the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones industrial average all made fresh record highs after falling more than 20%.

Along the same lines of whether it’s a bull market or a bear market rally, more survey respondents now believe the economy is experiencing a U-shaped recovery relative to last month’s survey, according to Bank of America.

On the macro side, 84% of respondents expect higher global growth, and 40% expect the global economy to get “a lot stronger,” which is the higher reading ever, according to Bank of America.

Despite the bullish sentiment among survey respondents, cash levels rose in August from 4.6% to 4.8%, just below BofA’s “fear” reading of cash levels surpassing the 5% threshold.