Investing August 30, 2002

Money, Bond Funds Bulk Up in July

August 30, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Investors dumped US equity mutual funds in July, generating a record stock fund outflow, according to an industry report.
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In their rush for the stock fund exits during July, investors pulled out $52.6 billion – by far the largest such outflow in dollar terms, according to the Investment Company Institute (ICI). In percentage terms, 1.7%, July’s stock outflow represented the second largest behind the October 1987 market meltdown when 3.17% in stock fund assets left.  Still, despite the surge, the net outflow was less than 2% of the total. 

Meanwhile, bond funds enjoyed a record $28.1 billion inflow in July after digesting $12.2 billion from June’s inflow.

The picture was much different with money market funds in July over the month before, ICI said. money market fund investors generated $54.6 billion in net inflow in July, compared with $43.6 billion net outflow in June. Of the $54.6 billion inflow, $24.3 billion was from institutional hands, ICI said.

Overall the combined assets of the nation’s mutual funds decreased by $252.8 billion to $6.378 trillion in July, according to the ICI.

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