Mutual Fund and ETF Trends: Record Inflows for Stocks, Record Outflows for Bonds

The report shows that equity funds brought in record sum of $352 billion in 2013. The previous record had been $324 billion, seen back in 2000. Be advised that not all of this was U.S.-focused funds.

Bond funds saw record outflows of $86 billion. The prior record year of outflows was $62 billion all the way back in 1994, which just happens to be the year of one of the worst bond bear markets in a generation.

TrimTabs also showed that bond funds have now seen seven consecutive months of redemptions, which is the first time since late 1999 and early 2000. There is a dire warning here regarding a potential bond exodus: this outflow reverses just a fraction of the inflow of $1.20 trillion from 2009 through 2012.

TrimTabs went on to explain that U.S. equity mutual funds and exchange-traded funds received $156 billion in 2013. This was called the first inflow since 2007 and the biggest inflow since the record inflow of $274 billion back in 2000. Global equity funds took in $195 billion, above the prior record inflows of $183 billion in 2006.

Global equity mutual funds took in $137 billion last year, versus only $18 billion into U.S. equity mutual funds. TrimTabs did admit that these inflows were disproportionate, even as international stock markets generally lagged the stock market here in America.