Chart of the Day: Cumulative weekly flows into major fund groups

Bond funds enjoyed another record week as equity indexes breached key levels, according to EPFR Global.

EPFR Global said:

Despite signs that returns in some fixed income asset classes are faltering under the recent flood of fresh money, investors committed another $7.57 billion, a new weekly record, to EPFR Global-tracked Bond Funds during the second week of March. The usual suspects -- High Yield, Emerging Markets, Municipal and Mortgaged Backed Bond Funds -- were again to the fore as the US and Japanese central banks reaffirmed their commitment to ultra-low interest rates.

Equity Funds also enjoyed a solid week, with investors showing a strong preference for exchange traded funds, as the Dow Jones set up shop above the 13,000 point mark and the Nikkei briefly breached the 10,000 point mark. "ETFs certainly provide investors with the quickest way to tap into the latest bounce in global equity markets," observed EPFR Global Research Director Cameron Brandt. "But, given the timing, some of the money may be looking to benefit from the quarterly rebalancing of many funds at the end of this month."

Investors retained their appetite for Alternative and Dividend Equity Funds, steered over $3 billion into Global Sector Funds and committed the most money to Japan Equity Funds since mid-3Q11. They continued pulling money out of Europe Equity Funds ahead of the official approvals of Greece’s latest bailout package, although the pace of redemptions slowed as the week progressed, and remained leery of fund groups with significant exposure to China.