Investing February 20, 2002

January Fund Inflow Smallest in a Decade

February 20, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Investors continued putting money into domestic stock funds in January, but at a rate that produced the smallest January inflow since early 1991, research firm Lipper said.

Reported by

Fred Schneyer

Instead of flocking to equity funds in January, as has often been the case for many Americans due to seasonal factors such as the investment of year-end bonuses, Lipper said cautious investors instead deposited a net $9.4 billion into bond funds.

The average diversified US stock fund fell 1.83% in January, according to separate Lipper data.

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January’s figures represent the fourth consecutive month for positive net deposits into domestic stock funds as mutual funds struggled to pull out of an industry sales slump, Lipper said.

Major stock indices fell in January after a late 2001 rebound with the S&P 500 down 1.5% including reinvested dividends.

Based on data from TrimTabs.com, February should show an approximately $1.1 billion net inflow.