Investors are increasingly facing difficulty in finding appropriate investment instruments to park their money for decent returns amid a bearish run on the local stock market and lingering economic uncertainties, data showed Tuesday.

The country’s short-term funds, including currency in circulation, all financial products with a maturity of less than six months, and money parked for stock investment, amounted to a record 757.4 trillion won ($720 billion) as of the end of August, a sharp increase from 713 trillion won at the end of last year, according to data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association.

The comparable figures for end of 2011 and end of 2012 were 650 trillion won and 666 trillion won, respectively, the data showed.

Market watchers said investors are refraining from making long-term investments because of still-lingering economic uncertainties and the lackluster performance of the local stock market.

A long streak of low interest rates has dragged down deposit rates, and lingering uncertainties over the property market are also making investors cautious about buying homes. (Yonhap)