Investing March 28, 2001

Value Back in Vogue

March 28, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - "Value funds are back in vogue," according to Financial Research Corp., which noted a $7.2 billion investment in those funds in February.

Reported by

Nevin E. Adams

Value funds have attracted nearly $13 billion this year, a dramatic turnaround from the prior two years.

Meanwhile, last year’s growth manager titan Janus suffered $1.8 billion in redemptions during the month, the largest among the top 25 fund firms. That dropped the fund family to the #6 US mutual fund group behind Franklin Resources. Roughly a third of Franklin’s $157.53 billion in assets is invested in fixed income.

PIMCO, Vanguard Tops

Vanguard’s $2.68 billion in net inflows made it the best selling fund family, during the month according to FRC, while Pimco’s Total Return Fund netted nearly $1.1 billion, making it the month’s top-selling fund. Vanguard’s Total Stock Index fund was the top-selling equity fund, attracting $641 million.

Ten of the top 25 firms had net redemptions in February, according to FRC.

Overall U.S. stock funds took in an estimated $674 million last month, down from $21 billion in January according to FRC. Money market funds drew $49 billion.