Fund Flows Hit Record $116 Billion in First Quarter

Mutual fund took in net flows of $116.46 billion in the first quarter of the year, up 75% from the $66.5 billion they netted in the same period last year, data from the Investment Company Institute shows.

Equity funds took in $92.96 billion. While high, that is still lower than the $130.2 billion they reaped in the first quarter of 2000, at the height of the bull market.

The flows are noteworthy, in light of the fact that industry experts not so long ago were predicting the demise of mutual funds in light of the scandal and the growing popularity of separately managed accounts and alternative investments, such as hedge funds, The Financial Times reports.

"The bear market is fading further and further not only from memory but also out of the three- and five-year returns," noted Russell Kinnell, director of fund research at Morningstar. And as far as the fund scandal is concerned, it's also now a distant memory, Kinnell added: "The fund companies have cleaned up their act. There were some bad players, and they have been removed."

The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.