Mutual Fund and ETF Trends: Record Inflows for Stocks, Record Outflows for Bonds

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By Jon C. Ogg Updated Published
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TrimTabs Investment Research has released its data trends for U.S.-listed mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in 2013. The long and short of the matter is that stock funds saw record inflows while bond funds saw record outflows. What really stands out here is that you can see just how dominant ETFs are against mutual funds today.

The report shows that equity funds brought in record sum of $352 billion in 2013. The previous record had been $324 billion, seen back in 2000. Be advised that not all of this was U.S.-focused funds.

Bond funds saw record outflows of $86 billion. The prior record year of outflows was $62 billion all the way back in 1994, which just happens to be the year of one of the worst bond bear markets in a generation.

TrimTabs also showed that bond funds have now seen seven consecutive months of redemptions, which is the first time since late 1999 and early 2000. There is a dire warning here regarding a potential bond exodus: this outflow reverses just a fraction of the inflow of $1.20 trillion from 2009 through 2012.

TrimTabs went on to explain that U.S. equity mutual funds and exchange-traded funds received $156 billion in 2013. This was called the first inflow since 2007 and the biggest inflow since the record inflow of $274 billion back in 2000. Global equity funds took in $195 billion, above the prior record inflows of $183 billion in 2006.

Global equity mutual funds took in $137 billion last year, versus only $18 billion into U.S. equity mutual funds. TrimTabs did admit that these inflows were disproportionate, even as international stock markets generally lagged the stock market here in America.

Photo of Jon C. Ogg
About the Author Jon C. Ogg →

Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.

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