U.S. Stock Funds Add $10.1 Billion

Investors added a net $10.1 billion to stock mutual funds in September as they showed a new interest in domestic equity portfolios, an industry trade group said Thursday.

The September inflows were greater than the net $1.2 billion that investors added to stock funds in August, the Investment Company Institute said.

Funds that invest primarily in U.S. stocks had an inflow of $6 billion, compared with an outflow of $1.1 billion in August.

World stock funds, which invest overseas, had a net inflow of $4.1 billion in September, up from $2.3 billion in August.

In the first nine months of the year stock funds took in a net $138.8 billion, up 41% from $98.1 billion in the same period of 2003.

But two fund companies -- Los Angeles-based American Funds and Valley Forge, Pa.-based Vanguard Group -- have taken in the bulk of the new money this year, according to Financial Research Corp. data.

The institute also reported:

* Bond funds took in a net $2.8 billion during September, compared with inflows of $4.2 billion in August.

* Money market funds had net outflows of $43.2 billion, compared with outflows of $13.5 billion in August.