Investing October 4, 2004

US Equity Funds Down in Third Quarter

October 4, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - US equity funds had their first decline in six quarters, with an average loss of 1.83% in the third quarter, according to a Lipper report issued Monday.
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The majority of this decline can be attributed to the US diversified fund market, which saw almost 80% of its ranks posting negative returns in the third quarter, according to Lipper.

However, some funds performed even worse then the diversified market. Science and technology funds trailed all other Lipper classifications for funds, declining a dismal 10.97% for the quarter.

Also, value funds continued to outperform growth funds. However, Lipper reports that the valuations of these two style types are at their closest level in nine years.

Lipper attributes the US equity decline to investors increasingly rushing to stable investment vehicles such as gold, natural resources, and real estate funds, which boosted their returns by 14.68%, 10.29%, and 7.86% respectively.

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