More than 4 out of 5 professional investors believe U.S. stocks are overvalued, and they're fleeing to other parts of the world to compensate, according to a survey released Wednesday.
The monthly Bank of America Merrill Lynch fund manager report found 83 percent of respondents saying that domestic stocks are too expensive, a record number for data that reach back to 1999.
Consequently, they are shifting allocations.
Continuing a trend this year, portfolio managers are moving overseas, with allocations to emerging markets hitting a five-year high and Europe seeing the most in 15 months. U.S. levels are at their lowest since January 2008.
Money is going overseas despite multiple geopolitical concerns, including the stability of the European Union.
"In spite of the French presidential election starting in less than a week, investors' perception of Europe is increasingly bullish," said Ronan Carr, BofAML European equity strategist. "Although we agree on the allure of Europe's earnings recovery, complacency looks extremely high."
Valuation has become a bigger concern in the market as the major averages catapulted to record highs after the November election. The Dow industrials breached the psychologically significant 20,000
However, gains have been tougher to come by lately, and the