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Every month we provide a snapshot of fund
industry results and developments, using
the latest available data from Strategic
Insight, which is released roughly three
weeks after each month-end
Clients can select from the latest Highlights
below or from the list
of all Monthly Highlights.
All reports are in PDF format [download
Acrobat Reader]
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Monthly Fund Industry Review: December 2011 |
1/20/2012 |
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Domestic equity funds returned 0.15% in December, and -1.13% for the year, on average (asset-weighted). The bland returns, concern that a recession in Europe would negatively impact the US economic recovery, and year-end rebalancing together depressed demand for domestically-oriented equity funds over the month (net outflows from the area totaled $17 billion), despite positive news on the unemployment front. The unresolved European sovereign debt crisis, coupled with a generally pessimistic outlook on non-US growth, contributed to net redemptions in December from International/Global Equity funds (-$12 billion), with even the long-standing interest in Emerging Markets funds temporarily waning.Prolonged low yields for cash instruments continued to benefit Bond funds though, which aggregately drew +$18.6 billion in net inflows in December, and $160 billion for the full year 2011. This month's report also includes some observations on full year 2011. |
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Monthly Fund Industry Review: November 2011 |
12/16/2011 |
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November brought little relief to anxious investors, as unemployment remained high, the housing market remained weak, and political headlines continued to dominate the financial markets. Domestic equity funds posted returns of -0.63% on an average-asset weighted basis and faced net redemptions of $13 billion. International/Global fund returns (-2.67%) were negatively impacted in November by the volatility arising from the ongoing European debt crisis, and concerns that economically stable Eurozone members were beginning to be affected. In aggregate, international/global funds net redeemed $4.4 billion. Investors continued to favor bond funds in their search for income, net depositing $16 billion into such funds.
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Monthly Fund Industry Review: October 2011 |
11/16/2011 |
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In October, the release of better-than-expected economic data in the US, dispelling somewhat the concerns over the possibility of a double-dip recession, and greater optimism following steps taken by European leaders towards resolving the Euro-zone debt crisis contributed to a rally in global stock markets. Equity/hybrid funds (on an average, asset-weighted basis) recorded 10.93% total returns in October, and came close to wiping out their year-to-date losses. Yet depressed investor risk appetites after months of heightened volatility and the generally muted outlook for economic growth contributed to modest net redemptions in this area (-$6 billion in aggregate; -$16 billion within actively managed equity/hybrid funds). Investors’ continued search for income in a low cash-yield environment and renewed appetite for higher-yielding and longer-maturity bond fund categories helped bond fund flows recover though to $24 billion. |
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Monthly Fund Industry Review: September 2011 |
10/17/2011 |
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In September, Equity/Hybrid funds, despite experiencing large total return losses (-9.02%, on average, asset-weighted) and facing continued investor wariness about the fate of the global economic recovery, eked out small positive net flows. It was the international equity segment, where losses were greater (-11.11%), which attracted positive net new contributions in September (+$8 billion), as flows into diversified developed-country-focused as well as emerging-market-oriented equity funds, and global flexible funds, recovered to a degree. US equity/hybrid funds' net redemptions declined to just about $7 billion in aggregate. Bond funds drew a total $9 billion over the month.
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Monthly Fund Industry Review: August 2011 |
9/16/2011 |
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A number of factors came together in August to trigger intense stock market volatility and dampen investor confidence. Equity/hybrid funds experienced total return losses of 6.37% on average, asset-weighted, over the month. Despite all the tumult, net redemptions from stock/hybrid funds were limited to $25 billion, roughly identical to the net outflows from the area in July. The global dislocation also affected investor appetite for Bond funds, which slipped into small net redemptions in aggregate (-$7 billion). Investor withdrawals in the bond area came largely within the Corporate Floating Rate and Corporate High Yield categories, which each experienced total return losses of 4.4% over the month, as uncertainty about the economic recovery drove a retreat.
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