By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON (Reuters) - European fund managers made their highest allocation to equities this month since March 2011, cutting cash positions in a risk-seeking environment, a Reuters survey showed on Monday.
Fund managers in the poll put 48.3 percent of their global assets in equities in June, well above the long-term average of 46 percent and compared with 48.1 percent in May.
They cut cash holdings to their lowest since May 2013 at 7.5 percent, from 7.9 percent in May, but raised bond holdings slightly within the model portfolio to 37.7 percent - the highest allocation since January - from 37.5 percent last month. [EUR/ASSET]
Investors are hunting for yield after the European Central Bank cut its main interest rates earlier this month, taking one into negative territory, and with the U.S. Federal Reserve not expected to raise rates from record lows until next year.
The survey polled 19 asset managers in continental Europe between June 13 and 25, at a time when U.S. stocks <.DJI> <.SPX> were hitting record highs as investors in global markets largely shrugged off conflicts in Ukraine and Iraq.
"We are mindful the potential narrow base for global economic growth may continue, with the U.S. accounting for too much," said Monica Defend, head of global asset allocation research at Pioneer Global Asset Management.
"In this scenario, the Federal Reserve will be closely watched for keeping rates at near-zero well after QE ends."
North American equity allocations reached 39.2 percent, their highest since July 2012, while North American bond positions hit 23.5 percent, their highest since Sept 2013.
Latin American bond holdings rose to 2.7 percent, their highest since July 2013.
Investors remained overweight in riskier corporate bonds, while they disliked low-yielding euro zone bonds.
U.S. poll table and story [US/ASSET]
UK poll table and story [GB/ASSET]
Japan poll table and story [JP/ASSET]
(Additional reporting by Chris Vellacott; Editing by Catherine Evans)