Managers of the world’s largest investment funds have recently started to show signs of panic and left the market, Yahoo writes.

Their abandonment of positions could be a strong argument in favor of buying stocks.

According to Bank of America’s latest monthly survey of global fund managers, a group of large investors exited the market immediately after Russia announced it was launching a special operation in Ukraine.

Fund managers told researchers that they currently hold the most cash in their portfolios and take the least risk. The situation today is generally reminiscent of April 2020, the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when trading volumes were very low on the stock market.

Note that more than 300 top investment professionals from around the world who manage more than $1 trillion in pension fund assets and other investments participated in the survey from March 4-10.

But investment managers aren’t all bearish about everything. In the survey, they said they are optimistic about energy and other commodity prices, as well as energy and natural resources stocks.

Notably, these investors dumped almost all stocks except those in the benchmark U.S. S&P 500 index, while selling off European stocks amid uncertainty about the geopolitical situation in the region. They also exited other major international markets – London and Tokyo (presumably for the same reason).

Back at the beginning of the year, just 3 months ago, they were highly optimistic about Europe and invested heavily in the region. 61% of respondents believe that large-company stocks will fare better than smaller firms over the next year. And the number of money managers predicting the onset of a bear market this year has doubled to 60%. This is no accident. You have to remember that these are the kind of “whales” who move the market with so much money; and they tend to think alike because most of them graduated from the same business schools. And their main objective is not to make money for their clients, but to stay in their positions as long as possible.

As a result, they all tend to sell the same stocks and at the same time, basing their decisions not on real value, and so these sales drive down stock prices. This situation can often present a great opportunity to open positions and take some risk.

Bank of America believes that despite the widespread bearish sentiment, the market is not yet showing signs of “capitulation” – that is, the point at which it seems that absolutely everyone is dumping their positions and there is panic in the market.

If you follow the advice of market “veterans”, it is simply foolish to try to find the bottom now. But if you think that now is a good time to buy European stocks, shares of international companies and companies with small capitalization, it is not the worst idea.