Global Funds Draw Net $8.1 Billion in January

Investors started 2005 in the same fashion they ended last year: with a preference for foreign stock mutual funds.

Global funds, which are headquartered in the U.S. but invest mainly in the stocks of foreign companies, took in a net inflow of $8.1 billion in January, a trade group said Thursday. Domestic equity funds took in about $600 million, according to the monthly survey by the Investment Company Institute.

The total stock fund inflow of $8.7 billion was down from the $10.3 billion inflow in December. January is often a strong month for inflows, but the drop-off was not unexpected considering the stock market’s slide last month.

Bond funds, meanwhile, reported a net inflow of $4.8 billion.

Net flows measure new cash invested minus redemptions.

Last year, stock funds took in a net $177.5 billion, the highest tally since 2000, thanks in part to a record $67 billion for global funds -- a far smaller category than domestic funds. In December, global funds accounted for nearly 80% of the industry inflow.

TrimTabs Investment Research estimates that stock funds will see a net inflow of $12.2 billion in February, with $7.6 billion of that to domestic funds.