Mutual problem as stock fund investors still heading for the exits

U.S. mutual funds lost $9.24 billion to withdrawals last week, the most in almost two months, as investors fled domestic and global stocks. Funds that invest in U.S. equities had $6.67 billion in redemptions and foreign-stock funds lost $2.96 billion in the week ended Nov. 30, the Washington-based Investment Company Institute said today in an e-mailed statement. The redemptions from stock funds were the most since the week ended Aug. 10, when investors pulled $29.7 billion. Industrywide withdrawals were the heaviest since the week ended Oct. 5, the trade group's data show. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped to a close as low as 1,158.67, then rallied 7.6 percent over three days to finish at 1,246.96 on Nov. 30 as the Federal Reserve and five other central banks reduced the cost of dollar funding. RELATED ITEM The 10 fund managers investors flocked to in 2011 » Investors have pulled money from equity funds for seven straight months, according to ICI data, driven by concerns about Europe's debt crisis and slowing economic growth around the world. The bulk of the redemptions have come in funds that buy U.S. stocks. Bond funds attracted $1.16 billion in the latest week. Taxable-bond funds got deposits of $709 million while municipal- bond funds won $449 million. --Bloomberg News--