Investors in U.S.-based stock funds added net new cash to mutual funds in the week ended Oct. 22, a sharp contrast to the net withdrawals from exchange-traded funds over the same period, data from Thomson Reuters' Lipper service showed on Thursday.
Mutual fund investors added $1.06 billion in new cash to stock funds through the week, while ETF investors took out $9.23 billion.
The data underscore a pattern for much of the year in which retail investors, commonly thought to be mutual fund buyers, behave differently from institutional investors, as represented by exchange-traded funds.
"The equity mutual funds were positive while the equity ETFs were significantly negative," said Barry Fennell, a senior analyst with Lipper. Those ETF investors might have been "a little skittish about what way corporate earnings might be going," he added.
While the S&P 500 index saw a sharp drop earlier in the month, it rose 3.5 percent in the week from Oct. 15-22.
Loan participation funds saw net outflows of $1.7 billion, the largest of such outflows since August 2011.
In contrast, corporate high-yield bond funds saw net inflows of $1.7 billion.
"Most of the loan funds and high-yield bond funds have very similar issuers, it's just where you are in the capital structure," Fennell said.
Loan participation funds include short-term loans to companies that are typically not investment grade. The loan holders commonly have first claim on a company's assets in the event of bankruptcy.
Taxable bond funds posted net inflows of $6.2 billion.
U.S.-based European stock funds posted net outflows of $958 million after record outflows in the previous week.
Inflows To U.S.-Based Stock Mutual Funds Outpace ETFs
October 24, 2014
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