Investors Push Money Back into Mutual Funds

Main Street investors who were bailing out of mutual funds that invest in U.S. stocks since the beginning of the financial crisis, plowing cash back into these funds in early 2011, a sign that confidence in the economy and the stock rises. In the past four weeks, individual investors who buy shares through mutual funds, nearly $ 12 billion in domestic stock investment funds, Investment Company Institute data show. In contrast, investors are attracted 22.5 billion U.S. dollars from bond funds – that was seen as a safe haven – in the last 12 weeks. This is a sign of what could be a major shift in the behavior of investors, says Jack Ablin of Harris Private Bank.


Since the beginning of 2008, the year of the economic crisis began, nervous investors all but given the resources, attracting 312 billion U.S. dollars of U.S. listed companies, including nearly $ 100 billion last year. In that period of three years, investors ran to the perceived safety of bond funds. The U.S. stock market by 95% since the March 2009 bear market low. The rally was driven by large professional investors who are well anticipated economic recovery and profit rebound in U.S. companies. Individuals have historically taken longer to return to the market after the steep, narrow drops. They often chase profits.