Mutual funds started February with a roar but ended the month with a whimper.
According to statistics released today by the Investment Company Institute, mutual funds posted estimated inflows of $5.51 billion for the week ended Wednesday, Feb. 29. That represents the month’s most meager weekly infusion and a far cry from the $12.77 billion they took in the first week of the month. It’s also a little more than half the $10.46 billion they posted in inflows just one week earlier.
Investors ditched U.S. equity funds, pulling an estimated $3.06 billion from them during the week, the biggest weekly outflow in February. Investors placed an estimated $226 million into foreign stock funds, down dramatically from the $1.09 billion they poured into the funds a week earlier.
Even bond funds — investor darlings in recent moths— posted lower inflows for the week. The funds took in an estimated $6.70 billion in fresh investments, down 17% from the week before. Of the $6.70 billion, $5.57 billion went to taxable bond funds with the remaining $1.13 billion going to municipal bond funds.
Hybrid funds—those that invest in both stocks and fixed-income securities—posted estimated inflows of $1.65 billion, up slightly from the $1.55 billion inflow a week earlier.
The weekly fund flow estimates are derived from data covering more than 95% of industry assets, according to ICI. The statistics cover long-term mutual funds, those the ICI defines as investing in long-term instruments.
