Fund managers push their chips in

The monthly survey of money managers from Bank of America gets a lot of attention, but in the years we've looked at it, its record as a contrary indicator (or not) is mixed at best. The just-released survey will generate a lot of attention because cash levels among managers plunged, triggering a sell signal.

The last one was timely. The one before that, in 2013, most certainly was not.

All that cash was put to work in global equities, where managers are now more than 50% overweight. The red dots on the chart show other months with more than 50% overweight. It preceded a couple of tops, but mostly just continued upside.

They're the most overweight emerging markets in many years. But again, months when they were more than 50% overweight showed no consistent future pattern.

They've become the most positive on commodities in a decade. There is a bit more consistency here as a contrary indicator, so maybe a mild warning for all the new commodity market bulls.