Global Bond, Stock Funds Among Recent Best-Sellers

Inflows to certain types of mutual funds reached the highest levels of the year in the week ended Sept. 17, The Wall Street Journal reports, potentially as a sign of renewed investor confidence.

Best-sellers included global and emerging-market bond funds, as well as global and sector stock funds. Meanwhile, outflows from money market funds were the second-highest for the year.

Specifically, $3 billion went into sector-specific funds in the latest week, emerging-market bond funds took in $540 million, emerging-market stock funds saw $299 million in inflows, and U.S. stock funds netted $299 million.

Nonetheless, not all investors appear ready to take on risk, since bond fund flows reached a 2009 weekly record of $2.8 billion. Year-to-date through August, 90% of this year’s mutual fund flows have been to bond funds.

“The fact is that we’re now a year away from the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the big crisis, and I think people are starting to feel that we’re closer to the end of the recession,” said Ian Wilson, managing director of fund data at EPFR Global.

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