Risk on: Money follows banks, retreats from gold
Investors have not known which way to look all summer, as asset prices have jerked from highs to lows day to day amid geopolitical threats, interest rate worries and scant volumes and volatility.
Global markets have been rocked by tensions between Russia and the West, sparked by Russia's annexation of Crimea in March this year. At the same time, market watchers have been focusing on whether the European Central Bank will announce new monetary stimulus and the timing of interest rate rises in the U.K. and the U.S.
But despite this unpredictability, August looks set to close on a high note and new data shows risk sentiment is firmly back on, as investors pour money into banking stocks and high yield bonds.
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Banks saw their largest inflows into banks in 12 weeks in the week ending August 27 and after the mass exodus, high yield funds have started to see signs of renewed life following two straight weeks of inflows reaching $1 billion, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Investors have also been shedding safe haven gold with precious metal outflows almost hitting a three month high of $0.4 billion said BofAML.
Emerging markets have well and truly lost their "contrarian" status after 12 consecutive weeks on inflows and Europe has also seen some recovery, the bank said.
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Looking ahead to next month, market analyst at IG, Alastair McCaig said September has regularly proven to be gold's most profitable month in recent decades.
"Of course, with the topic of interest rate rises never far from traders' minds, the lack of any income generated from investing in the precious metal could quickly turn that bullish sentiment," he said.
Commenting on the recent rebound in high-yield bond inflows, Alan Higgins chief U.K. investment officer at private banks Coutts said while he prefers a combination of government bonds and equities over high-yield, the fundamental attractions of high-yield remain intact.
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"We prefer to gain interest rate exposure through government bonds and equity exposure directly through equities (although equity and high-yield bond prices often move in tandem). High-yield bonds still have a role to play in portfolios.
—By CNBC's Jenny Cosgrave: Follow her on Twitter @jenny_cosgrave