Big investors are holding the highest amount of cash since Lehman's collapse

[NEW YORK] Cash is king, according to the results of the latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch fund manager survey.

The survey was conducted between July 2 and July 9 and worries over Greece, China and an impending interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve seemed to weigh heavily on the minds of the 191 respondents (who hold a collective US$510 billion in assets under management).

Results showed cash levels jumped to 5.5 per cent, their highest level since December of 2008, when the world was still in the midst of a major financial crisis sparked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Still, BofAML analysts led by chief investment Strategist Michael Hartnett figure all that cash on the sidelines is a major buy signal: "When average cash balancerises above 4.5 per cent a contrarian buy signal is generated for equities. When the cash balance falls below 3.5 per cent a contrarian sell signal is generated," they remind us.

BLOOMBERG