London: The first quarter of 2010 saw flows into emerging market equity funds stumble, bond funds continue their stellar run, developed market equity funds regain some of their lustre and money market funds post record setting outflows.
Last week, investors pulled another $34.9 billion (Dh128 billion) out of money market funds, committed $2.98 billion — a weekly record, to global bond funds and extended the inflow streaks of US and Japan equity funds.
Back seat
Overall, all bond funds tracked by EPFR Global posted collective inflows of $6.5 billion during the final week of March while all equity funds took in a combined $2.47 billion.
"Although the emerging market equity fund flows during the past quarter look good compared to first-quarter ‘09, they are well short of the $30 billion these funds took in during the fourth quarter of 2009," said EPFR Global senior analyst Cameron Brandt.
"Investors looking at equity, which is still taking a back seat to fixed income, are giving the US, Japan and other developed markets another look. While inflows into developed market equity funds in the quarter were a modest $3 billion, it was quite a different story from the record $58 billion of outflows from these funds for the same period in 2009."
In addition to the latest mark posted by global bond funds, the weekly records set over the past three months include money market fund outflows ($61.8 billion), high-yield bond fund inflows ($1.19 billion), emerging market bond fund inflows ($1.05 billion) and UK equity fund inflows ($587 million).
Emerging market equity funds ended March by posting their seventh consecutive week of inflows. All four of the major fund groups took in modest amounts of fresh money.
