January marked a new record for the fund industry with a monthly net intake for stock and bond mutual funds of $90 billion, which is more than triple the average 2012 monthly experience, in which the average month netted under $30 billion of inflows.
“Assuming modest economic expansion this year, it is plausible that annual stock and bond fund flows exceed $500 billion, more than 50% above the previous annual record,” stated Avi Nachmany, SI’s Director of Research.
January set the all-time record for monthly flows into actively-managed stock and bond funds in the amount of $72 billion (or 80% of total mutual fund flows). The previous record for monthly net flows into actively-managed funds was set in January 2007 with $46 billion.
“Remarkably, January witnessed rapidly expanding demand for a very wide range of investment strategies: US stock and balanced funds; emerging and developed international market stock funds; value and growth strategies; and fixed income, with the exception of US Government bond funds,” said Nachmany.
“The two parallel rotations taking place in the fund industry will continue in 2013 and beyond—the rotation towards stock investing and the rotation from cash accounts to bond and income strategies.”
