Portfolio - Mutual Funds

U.S. Stock Funds Lose Another $4.8 Billion

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Print

Email

Reprints

Tweet

Outflows from U.S. stock mutual funds intensified in mid-September, according to the latest statistics from the Investment Company Institute. For the week ended Sept. 19, investors withdrew an estimated $4.80 billion from funds that invest long-term in U.S. equities, almost twice the $2.67 billion they withdrew a week earlier.

Non-U.S. stock funds were also hit, losing an estimated $355 million for the week.

Bond funds, in contrast, received a warm investor response, taking in $8 billion, down slightly from the previous week's $8.11 billion inflow. Of the $8 billion, $7.55 billion went to taxable bond funds with the remaining $446 million going to municipal bonds.

Hybrid funds, which invest in both stocks and fixed income securities, posted estimated inflows of $1.64 billion, up 25% from the $1.31 billion they took in the week before.

All told, mutual funds attracted $4.47 billion, a 28% decrease from the $6.20 billion they posted in inflows a week earlier.

The weekly fund flow estimates are derived from data covering more than 95% of industry assets, according to ICI.  The statistics cover long-term mutual funds, those the ICI defines as investing in long-term instruments.