Funds See Net Inflows Of $9.4 Billion in April
Dow Jones Newswires
NEW YORK -- With stock prices rebounding, investors moved $21 billion into equity funds in April, research firm Lipper Inc. said Wednesday. The inflows come one month after U.S. equity funds suffered the largest net outflows on record.
However, tax payments spurred outflows of $10.2 billion from money-market funds, while long-term bond funds saw outflows of $1.4 billion, ending three straight months of inflows.
Lipper, a unit of Reuters Group PLC, said overall net flows to the fund industry slowed to $9.4 billion in April, the smallest since September. The company noted that April typically is a slow month for net fund investments as the result of tax payments. Overall flows were negative during both April 1999 and April 2000, the firm said.
Lipper also suggested that although April's rally in U.S. stocks resulted in a rebound in investor confidence, inflows of about $21 billion reflect caution as well as relief, given the sharpness of the equity rebound. In addition, the types of funds investors favored -- balanced, value and Standard & Poor's 500 Index -- indicated that investor optimism remains guarded.
Fund Firms Report Net Outflows as Market Scares Retail Investors (May 10)
Stock Funds See Slim Inflows as Market Turmoil Continues (April 19)
Investors Seek Profitable Haven by Making a Shift to Bond Funds (April 9)
U.S. diversified equity funds received $13.8 billion in flows, about two-thirds of the overall equity flow, and world equity funds rebounded from their March outflows to show a healthy intake of $2.7 billion.
Lipper said value funds outdrew growth funds. Sector funds had a slight inflow of about $1 billion, but these concentrated funds were still less attractive to gun-shy investors than more diversified choices.
Balanced funds drew $800 million in inflows and scored their seventh consecutive month of inflows, while technology funds saw net inflows of $600 million.
S&P 500 Index funds attracted $1.1 billion, posting their best month since September and reversing two months of outflows.
April money-market outflows, spurred by tax bills, were the smallest for April since 1998.
After three months of modest inflows, longer-term bond funds again experienced a net drain in April. Lipper said some of that outflow may have resulted from renewed interest in equity funds, and some may have been spurred by tax payments.
Short-and intermediate-term bonds had a continued net inflow, most likely reflecting consumers' uncertainty about inflation. |
