Oct 15, 2012 | Open-End Fund Investors Give Equities a Cold Shoulder, Withdrawing $9.1 Billion, While Padding the Coffers of Equity ETFs (+$30.6 Billion)Mutual fund investors were net purchasers of fund assets for September, padding the coffers of bond funds (injecting $31.9 billion into conventional bond funds), while turning a cold shoulder to stock & mixed-asset funds and money market funds--withdrawing a net $9.1 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively. The U.S. Diversified Equity Funds macro-group experienced its seventeenth consecutive month of net redemptions (-$13.7 billion), with large-cap funds (-$10.3 billion) dragging down the group for the fortieth consecutive month. ETFs posted their tenth consecutive month of net inflows at $33.3 billion--their largest monthly inflow since December 2008.After a lackluster August, stock & mixed-equity ETF investors came back in full force, injecting roughly $31.0 billion into the asset group. Interest was spread widely among domestic and nondomestic diversified equity products as well as in sector-specific offerings. |
Oct 03, 2012 | Third Time’s a Charm? QE3 to the RescueThe Return of Risky AssetsTIPS Funds, with a surge of 2.12% for the quarter, easily led all Treasury-related classifications. Despite a rather steep loss for September (-0.92%), the General U.S. Treasury Funds group was up 0.34% on the quarter.High Yield Funds, up 4.29%, won the corporate debt race for the quarter; Corporate Debt BBB-Rated Funds was up 3.59% for the quarter. Emerging Markets Debt Funds rebounded strongly from Q2’s result and gained 6.45%.Munis disengaged from a soft market for Treasuries and gained an average of 2.26%. Spreads on long-term California debt narrowed considerably. |
Oct 02, 2012 | The Month in Closed-End Funds: September 2012This was the first month in recent history that the month-end median discount of all closed-end funds (CEFs) turned to a premium and the first month since at least 1996 when over 50% of all CEFs traded at a premium (53%, to be exact). For the third month in a row all of Lipper's CEF classifications posted a positive NAV-based return for September as investors cheered commitments from both the ECB and the Fed and some better-than-expected economic reports. For the fourth consecutive month equity and fixed income CEFs posted returns in the black, gaining 2.81% and 1.31% on average on a NAV basis and 2.88% and 2.61% on a market basis, respectively. As a result of increased global optimism world bond CEFs (+2.55%) handily outperformed their taxable domestic bond CEF (+1.57%) and municipal bond CEF (+1.01%) cousins. In the equity universe world equity CEFs (+4.01%) beat their domestic equity CEF (+2.37%) and mixed-equity CEF (+2.08%) cohorts. |
Oct 01, 2012 | Fed-Inspired Rally Pushes Equity Funds to Positive Q3 2012 PerformanceEquity funds (+5.72%) posted unexpectedly strong returns for Q3, with World Equity Funds (+6.63%) outperforming Lipper's other three broad equity macro-classifications. Sector Equity Funds (+5.77%) lagged the World Equity Funds group by 86 basis points (bps), followed by U.S. Diversified Equity (USDE) Funds (+5.29%) and Mixed-Asset Funds (+4.49%).Investors were willing to put risk back on their portfolios, bidding up Precious Metals Equity Funds (+22.39%), Commodities Precious Metals Funds (+15.65%), and India Region Funds (+13.74%). The previous quarter's leader, Dedicated Short-Bias Funds, was Q3's laggard, losing 10.63%. While large-cap funds (+6.23%) led for the second consecutive quarter, small-cap funds (+2.80%) took the lead in September. |
Sep 18, 2012 | For the Second Month in a Row Investors Were Net Purchasers of Fund Assets—Injecting a Net $37.9 Billion Into the Conventional Funds Business for AugustOnce again investors padded the coffers of bond funds and money market funds—injecting $32.4 billion and $6.8 billion, respectively, while turning a cold shoulder to stock & mixed-asset funds—withdrawing a net $1.3 billion. The U.S. Diversified Equity Funds macro-group experienced its sixteenth consecutive month of net redemptions (-$13.5 billion), with large-cap funds (-$10.3 billion) dragging down the group for the thirty-ninth consecutive month. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted their ninth consecutive month of net inflows at $4.3 billion with $3.9 billion in net sales for fixed income offerings.Stock & mixed-asset ETFs post net inflows of $442 million as investors shun U.S. Diversified Equity ETFs in preference for World Equity ETFs and gold trusts. |
Sep 05, 2012 | The Month in Closed-End Funds: August 2012For the third consecutive month equity and fixed income closed-end funds (CEFs) posted returns in the black, gaining 1.67% and 0.79% on average on a NAV basis and 1.97% and 0.42% on a market basis, respectively. For the first month in three world bond CEFs (+1.23%) underperformed their taxable domestic bond CEF (+1.37%) counterpart, while both outpaced their municipal bond CEF (+0.38%) cousin. For the second month in a row, municipal debt CEF classifications continued on their winning way, with High Yield Municipal Debt Funds (+0.67%) moving to the top of the muni class.Despite continued interest in world equity funds, investors appeared to favor domestic issues, bidding up Growth Funds (+2.53%) and Core Funds (+2.47%).World equity CEFs (+1.48%) underperformed their domestic equity CEF (+1.78%) and mixed-equity CEF (+1.62%) counterparts. The August median discount of all CEFs widened 38 basis points (bps) to 0.64%, remaining well below the 12-month moving average of 2.32% for the tenth consecutive month. |
Aug 15, 2012 | Investors Inject $54.2 Billion Into the Conventional Funds Business for July—The Most Since January 2009 For the second month in three investors were net purchasers of fund assets for July, adding $54.2 billion to the coffers of the conventional funds business. Investors injected a net $24.5 billion into bond funds, $29.0 billion into money market funds, and just $0.8 billion into stock & mixed-asset funds. For the fifteenth consecutive month investors were net redeemers of U.S. Diversified Equity Funds, withdrawing $12.9 billion. Large-cap funds (-$12.0 billion) experienced their thirty-eighth consecutive month of net outflows. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted their eighth consecutive month of net inflows at $15.8 billion with nearly $15.3 billion in net sales for equity offerings.For the eighteenth consecutive month bond ETFs (+$500 million for July) witnessed net purchases. General moves out of U.S. Treasury products tame the recently strong inflows. |
Aug 02, 2012 | The Month in Closed-End Funds: July 2012For the second month in a row equity and fixed income closed-end funds (CEFs) posted returns in the black, gaining 1.80% and 2.56% on a NAV basis and 2.38% and 3.15% on a market basis, respectively. For the second consecutive month world bond CEFs (+3.01%) outperformed their taxable domestic bond CEF (+2.22%) and municipal bond CEF (+2.72%) counterparts. Municipal debt CEF classifications returned to their winning ways, with General & Insured Municipal Debt Funds (Leveraged) (+2.98%) moving to the top of the muni class.With improving oil prices and investors' continued interest in dividend-paying issues, it wasn’t surprising to see Income & Preferred Stock Funds (+3.08%), Sector Equity Funds (+2.97%), and Real Estate Funds (+2.44%) jump to the head of the class.World equity CEFs (+1.27%) underperformed their domestic equity CEFs (+1.91%) and mixed-equity CEFs (+2.49%) counterparts. The July median discount of all CEFs narrowed 79 basis points (bps) to 0.25%, remaining well below the 12-month moving average of 2.74% for the ninth consecutive month. |
Jul 17, 2012 | Despite Strong Equity Returns for June, Investors Were Net Redeemers, Withdrawing $27.8 Billion From the Conventional Funds Business• For the third month in four investors were net redeemers of fund assets for June, removing $27.8 billion from the conventional funds business. Investors injected a net $13.4 billion into bond funds; however, they were net redeemers of money market funds (-$40.6 billion) and stock & mixed-asset funds (-$0.7 billion). • For the fourteenth consecutive month investors were net redeemers of U.S. Diversified Equity Funds, withdrawing $8.8 billion. Large-cap funds (-$7.3 billion) experienced their thirty-seventh consecutive month of net outflows. • Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted their seventh consecutive month of net inflows at $10.4 billion with nearly $6.2 billion in net sales for equity offerings.• For the eighteenth consecutive month bond ETFs (+$4.1 billion for June) witnessed net purchases. |
Jul 09, 2012 | Safety First: Treasuries Rally as Europe Slides• The General U.S. Treasury Funds group (+4.91%) was the clear winner for the quarter in a very bond-friendly environment.• A "risk-on" mentality evolved late in the quarter but was not enough to save Emerging Markets Debt Funds, which was down 0.07%. • The largest fixed income group, the $793-billion Intermediate Investment-Grade Debt Funds category, was up 1.99% for the quarter.• Munis rallied with Treasuries as Lipper's General Muni Debt Funds category gained 2.16% in Q2. |
