US fund investors pumped billions into bond funds for a 51st straight week, the Investment Company Institute (ICI) said on Wednesday, underscoring the seemingly insatiable appetite for yield. Taxable-bond mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) took in $6.16 billion during the week ended November 21, following inflows of just $839 million during the previous week ended November 15, the lowest in nearly a year, according to the trade group.
"Given the strong run in global stock markets this year, investors are heading into year-end more cautious and favoring the stability of investment-grade bond investments," said Todd Rosenbluth, director of ETF & Mutual Fund Research at CFRA. Equity funds also enjoyed a solid week of inflows. Investors poured an estimated $5.03 billion into stock funds for the week, compared to estimated outflows of $54 million in the previous week. Domestic equity funds had estimated inflows of $1.17 billion, and world equity funds had estimated inflows of $3.86 billion.
Commodity funds - which are ETFs that invest primarily in commodities, currencies, and futures - had estimated outflows of $39 million for the week, compared with estimated inflows of $136 million in the previous week.
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