Investors Pull $1.8 Billion from U.S. Stock Mutual Funds

U.S. equity funds took a beating the week ended Wednesday, February 1, posting cash outflows of $1.8 billion, according to statistics released today by the Investment Company Institute. That’s a big reversal from the week before when investors steered $850 million in U.S. stock funds.

Foreign stock funds helped stanch the huge outflow, pulling in an estimated $108 million in new investments for the week. But even they were down from the $323 million they gained the week before.

Bond funds continued to attract the most investors, drawing $7.5 billion in fresh inflows for the week. Of the $7.5 billion, $5.87 billion went to taxable bond funds with the remaining $1.63 billion going to municipal bond funds.

Hybrid funds—those that invest in both stocks and fixed-income securities—posted $2.2 billion in net inflows, slightly down from the $2.62 billion they posted in inflows the week before.

All told, long-term mutual funds gained an estimated $8 billion, down 30% from the $11.46 billion they posted in inflows the week before.

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. [IMGCAP(1)]

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