Stock mutual fund outflows increase for week

Investors yanked $5.2 billion out of stock mutual funds in the week ending April 15, reversing an inflow of $3.8 billion the previous week, according to TrimTabs Investment Research. Equity funds investing primarily in U.S. stocks had a net outflow of $3 billion, reversing the previous week’s inflow of $3.2 billion, the Sausalito, Calif.-based research firm reported yesterday. Funds that invest in non-U.S. stocks experienced a net outflow of $2.2 billion, compared to the inflow of $563 million the funds posted the previous week. Bond funds had an inflow of $27 million for the week. While still a positive sales number, the total for bond funds was down significantly from the previous week, which showed an inflow of $6.7 billion, TrimTabs reported. Hybrid funds, which invest in both stocks and bonds, had an outflow of $50 million, a reversal of the previous week when the funds had an inflow of $550 million. ETFs that invest in U.S. stocks posted an outflow of $4.5 billion, reflecting an increase from the $1.4 billion outflow of the previous week. At the same time, ETFs that invest in non-U.S. stocks had an inflow of $1.3 billion, down slightly from the $1.9 billion inflow of the prior week.