For the eleventh month in 12 stock & mixed-asset mutual funds witnessed net outflows, handing back $12.8 billion for February, and for the first month in 14 fund investors were net sellers of fixed income mutual funds, withdrawing $1.3 billion from the macro-group. For the first month since May 2016 authorized participants (APs, those investors who actually create and redeem ETF shares) were net redeemers of stock & mixed-asset ETFs—withdrawing $10.1 billion. However, for the fifteenth consecutive month they were net purchasers of bond ETFs—injecting $2.1 billion for February.
Despite World Equity Funds taking it on the chin in February, declining 4.43% on average for the month and underperforming the average USDE fund (-3.61%), mutual fund investors continued to embrace international issues. For the fifth consecutive month fund investors were net purchasers of the World Equity Funds macro-classification, injecting $11.6 billion for February. APs were net redeemers of four of the five equity-based ETF macro-classifications: USDE ETFs (-$16.2 billion), Sector Equity ETFs (-$2.6 billion), Alternatives ETFs (-$1.2 billion), and Mixed-Asset ETFs (-$0.2 billion), but they were net purchasers of World Equity ETFs (+$10.2 billion) for the fifteenth consecutive month. In this segment I highlight the February fund-flow results for both types of investment vehicles.
Highlights
- For the eighth straight month mutual fund investors were net purchasers of fund assets, injecting a net $26.6 billion into the conventional funds business. However, only money market funds (+$40.8 billion) witnessed net inflows for January, while investors were net redeemers of stock & mixed-asset funds (-$12.8 billion) and fixed income funds (-$1.3 billion—for the first month in 14).
- For the fifth consecutive month world equity funds witnessed net inflows, attracting $11.6 billion for February.
- For the first month in 25 authorized participants (APs) were net redeemers of ETFs, withdrawing $8.0 billion for February. APs redeemed a net $10.1 billion from stock & mixed-asset ETFs but were net purchasers of bond ETFs, injecting a net $2.1 billion.
- For the first month in seven World Equity ETFs (+$10.2 billion for February) attracted the largest (only) net draw of the five broad-based equity ETF macro-classifications.
Click here to download the February 2018 FundFlows Insight Report: Fund Investors and APs Are Net Redeemers of Equity Funds and ETFs for February.
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