U.S. equity funds took a beating the week ended Wednesday, February 1, losing an estimated $1.8 billion in investor flows, 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, 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 $1.6 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 $2.6 billion it posted in inflows the week before.
All told, long-term mutual funds gained an estimated $8 billion, down 43% from the $11.5 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.
