Long-Term Funds Lure $1.4 Billion in Inflows
Long-term mutual funds had estimated inflows of $1.4 billion in the latest week, as investors added more money to bond funds than they withdrew from equities and hybrid funds, according to the Investment Company Institute.</br></br>The latest week marks the sixth consecutive week of inflows reported by ICI. The funds saw steep outflows over the summer when investors retreated from a volatile stock market amid concerns about an uncertain economic outlook and the debt load in the U.S. and Europe, though investors have continued to consistently pull money from U.S. equities since August. Bonds and hybrid funds have seen mostly inflows so far this year.</br></br>For the week ended Nov. 22, equity funds had outflows of $3.74 billion, compared with outflows of $1.26 billion in the prior week. Investors withdrew $3.72 billion from U.S. equities and pulled $23 million to foreign funds.</br></br>Meanwhile, ICI said bond funds had inflows of $6.57 billion, compared with prior week inflows of $6.47 billion. Investors added $6.24 billion to taxable funds, while inflows to municipal funds totaled $333 million.</br></br>Investors pulled $1.42 billion from hybrid funds after prior-week outflows of $4.59 billion. Such funds can invest in both stocks and fixed-income assets.