Investing December 1, 2004

Mutual Fund Inflows Down but Still Positive in October

December 1, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - October stock and bond mutual fund net inflows were down $7.6 billion when compared to the previous month, but the industry still saw a positive flow of money to the tune of $13.9 billion.
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According to the Financial Research Corporation (FRC), Domestic Equity funds led the way with net inflows of $8.1 billion. This was $3.3 billion less than in September , when Domestic Equity also led fund inflows. International/Global funds were second on the month, posting a $7.7 billion intake.

By Morningstar category, Moderate Allocation funds topped the October charts with an inflow of $3.9 billion, followed by Intermediate-Term Bond funds, which brought in $2.3 billion. Moderate Allocation led in September as well, posting returns of $4.1 billion on the month.

The largest fund group remains the Vanguard Group, but American Funds is growing faster than the current mutual fund king of kings. In October, American almost doubled its next-best competitor, pulling in $6.5 billion on the month. Vanguard was second, although the fund giant only saw intakes of $3.3 billion in October. This is the 19 th month in a row that American Funds has led the way with inflows.

Not surprising considering its overall net inflows, American Funds had the three top-selling funds in October, with its Growth Fund America pulling in $1.4 billion alone. On the year to date, American Funds has the five top-selling funds, with the Growth Fund America pulling in $16.8 billion since January.

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