Investors slash equities, pile into cash amid growth fears

Investors have slashed profit expectations and equity allocations by record levels and bolstered their cash positions in a startling indication of evaporating risk appetite amid global growth fears. Average cash balances surged to 5.2% in August, closing in on the 5.5% high of December 2008, finds Bank of America-Merrill Lynch in its global fund manager survey. It should be noted, however, that the survey of 244 panellists with total AUM of $718 billion was carried out from Augu…