Morningstar: International and bonds see inflows

Morningstar recently released its report on US mutual fund asset flows for March 2014. They estimate that $39.2 billion was added to long-term mutual funds in March, driven by inflows to both developed international markets and intermediate-term bond funds. International-equity funds took in $11 billion, led by foreign large blend with inflows of $6.6 billion. Diversified emerging-market funds rebounded from February with inflows of $1.1 billion in March.

Core intermediate-term bond funds saw their first inflows in 11 months, bringing in $4.3 billion. PIMCO Total Return showed outflows of $3.1 billion, bringing down total inflows for intermediate-term bond funds from $7.4 billion.

Fidelity’s transfer of $6.5 billion from equity mutual funds to collective investment trusts brought down inflows for US-equity mutual funds, which totaled $2.8 billion during March. This does not necessarily signify negative investor sentiment toward equities, as fluctuation in flows was driven by the transfer.

Excluding Fidelity’s transfer, PIMCO was the only fund provider among the top 10 to experience net outflows during the first quarter.

To read Morningstar’s complete report, click here.