Projected November Fund Flows Reduced
About those projected “record” money flows into stock mutual funds in November: never mind.
Mutual Fund Trim Tabs, a private data-tracking service, sharply lowered its estimate Monday of how much money stock funds took in because of distortions caused by abnormally strong activity at the Janus mutual fund group.
The Santa Rosa, Calif.-based firm said it now estimates that stock funds took in a net $20.5 billion in the month. Trim Tabs had estimated early last week that November fund flows would exceed $30 billion.
The firm takes information from Janus and other fund groups representing about 20% of industry stock fund assets and then makes a calculation to arrive at a figure for all funds.
Research director Carl Wittnebert said 13 Janus stock funds took in a net $4.3 billion last month, up from $3 billion in October. “Janus is taking in money hand over fist,” he said--but its results were not representative of the entire industry.
Trim Tabs said it has begun using a new method to calculate its figures that takes into account the activity at Janus.
The latest November estimate by Trim Tabs, while lower, would still make for a strong month, nearly matching the official October stock fund inflow figure of $20.4 billion reported by the Investment Company Institute.
