November Saw 2.7% Drop in Value of Mutual Funds

The Investment Company Institute reported December 30 that total mutual fund assets in the U.S. declined 2.7%, or $261 billion, in November 2008, led by an 8.6% drop in the value of stock mutual funds. The total value of U.S. mutual funds dropped in the month from $9.62 trillion in October to $9.35 trillion in November, ICI said, but noted that net outflows of long-term funds (stock, bond, and hybrid funds) decreased in November to $41.31 billion, compared to October’s $127.55 billion outflow. As for money market funds, inflows slowed down in November, to $122.43 billion, compared to October’s inflow of $143.52 billion. A similar change was seen in bond funds, which had an outflow of $14.51 billion in November, compared to an outflow of $40.72 billion in October.