Investing January 30, 2002

December Flows Trickle into Stock Funds

January 30, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Stock funds attracted $3.4 billion in new money in December, a mere trickle compared to the $15.3 billion worth of inflows in November, according to data from the Investment Company Institute (ICI).

Reported by

Camilla Klein

The proceeds come from an inflow of $6.9 billion into domestic stock funds, which more than offset a $3.9 billion outflow from funds that invest overseas.

Bond funds leaked $2.07 billion in December, losing some of November’s $6.87 billion inflow.

Money market funds had outflows of $25.6 billion in December, compared with cash flow of $60.3 billion in November. Of the December outflow, $14.4 billion came from funds that are offered primarily to institutional investors. According to ICI, these funds typically have outflows in December. Funds that are offered primarily to individuals had outflows of $11.27 billion.

Last year, cash flow into institutional money funds accounted for $338.9 billion of the total $374.6 billion, ICI reports.

Institutional investors use these funds as a cash management tool and as an alternative to direct investments in money markets.

Overall, the combined assets of the nation’s mutual funds increased by 5% to $6.97 trillion in December, compared to an inflow of $6.96 a year ago, ICI data shows.