The Markets March 24, 2009

Funds Suffer $18B Loss in February

Stock and bond funds experienced net outflows of $18.1 billion in February, reversing a $22.2-billion January inflow, according to the Financial Research Corporation.
Reported by

FRC said while corporate bond funds led the net inflow category with $10.6 billion, domestic equity funds experienced the largest net outflows with $22.8 billion, according to a news release. International/global equity saw a $12.5-billion outflow, and international/global fixed income saw a $1.4-billion outflow.

By Morningstar category, Precious Metals led the way with a $7.4-billion inflow, followed by Intermediate-Term Bond at $6.6 billion, Natural Resources at $3.1 billion, Municipal National Short at $1.8 billion, and Inflation-Protected Bond at $1.7 billion.

The best-selling funds in February, according to FRC data, were the SSgA SPDR Gold Shares ETF with a $5.6-billion influx, followed by PIMCO Total Return at $3.7 billion and the Vanguard Group’s Total Stock Index fund at $1.5 billion.

According to FRC, Corporate Bond Funds also led the way in January, with $16.1 billion in inflows (see “Mutual Funds See Inflows in January’).

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