Gundlach's Bond Fund Edges Out Gross

Investors in mutual funds rushed to bond funds in 2012, shunning stock mutual funds.

Assets of taxable-bond funds have more than doubled since the end of 2008 from $1.1 trillion to $2.5 trillion, thanks largely to net inflows, Morningstar reported today. Meanwhile, outflows from actively managed U.S.-stock mutual funds in 2012 fell to below even 2008 flows.

Overall, long-term open-end funds saw inflows of $243.2 billion in 2012.

Vanguard and PIMCO led the inflow brigade by far. The two companies collectively doubled their inflow capture in 2011, scoring 61% of net inflows in 2012 versus 30% in 2011. They drew 46% in 2009.

But the fund that enjoyed the most open-end fund inflows was DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund. The neutral-rated fund saw $19.6 billion in flows, versus gold-rated PIMCO Total Return's $18 billion.

Intermediate-term bond fund inflows far outpaced that of any Morningstar Category for the fourth year in a row. Intermediate-term bond funds took in $109.9 billion in 2012, compared with $37.5 billion for the runner-up, short-term bond.

Stock funds have seen outflows since 2009, reaching a low at $60 billion after barely drawing $3 billion of inflows in 2008. Despite the S&P 500 being up 16% for the year, stock fund outflows for 2012 fell $3 billion to $34 billion from $31 billion.

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