Barely a tenth of respondents in a monthly fund manager survey expect a stronger global economy in the coming months, marking the lowest proportion since last April's initial Covid-19 panic, Bank of America's (BofA's) September edition of the survey showed. Economic growth expectations are now at a net 13 per cent, the lowest since April 2020 and markedly down from a 91 per cent peak in March this year. The spread of the Delta variant was cited as the reason for the pessimism, the popular monthly survey said. Despite the growing caution on the macroeconomic outlook, positioning in asset markets remains overwhelmingly bullish. Equity market protection designed to shield portfolios against a sharp drop in asset values was at the lowest levels since January 2008. Nearly half of BofA's clients, with $840 billion in assets under management, said they have removed protection against a sharp fall in equity prices over the next three months, the lowest figure since January 2018.