New York research firm
Investors poured a net $37 billion into the funds, including into variable annuities and ETFs, the researcher said. The best month for net flows was February of 2000 when investors poured more than $50 billion into funds.
In a statement, Strategic Insight attributed the gains to "rising investor and consumer confidence, poor yields for bank deposits and money market funds, seasonal investments, retirement and 529 educational savings, and on-going shifts from individual stocks into diversified mutual funds."
Investors also became less leery of international products, which posted net flows of $2.5 billion.
Growth funds broke even by rough estimates, despite recovering equity markets, Lipper said. Money funds, which have been thriving in turbulent markets, posted outflows of $38 billion, the largest since April 2000.
