Investing May 6, 2002

Bond Funds Beat out Equities in April

May 6, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Benefiting from conflicting economic data and the equity market's struggle to find footing, US bond mutual funds, with combined assets of $2.47 trillion, gained a little ground in April, according to figures from Lipper, Inc.
Reported by

The average taxable US bond fund inched up by 1.1% over the month, bringing year-to-date returns to 1.4%, while equity funds, depressed by a poor outlook for corporate profits, slid a further 3.7% in April, bringing the year-to-date tally to a disappointing -3.3%.

Investors also found cash unappealing over the month, and, amid growing consensus that the US central bank is unlikely to start tightening the money supply any time soon, showed a clear preference for fixed income bets.
 
According to data from Lipper, over the month:

  • general US Treasury funds gained 2.9%
  • US government funds gained 2.2%
  • target-maturity funds were up 4.2%
  • high-yield funds edged up by 1.1%
  • emerging markets debt funds were up by 1.1%.

 

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