Mutual and exchange-traded funds hemorrhaged a record volume of bonds in June, according to a fresh report by TrimTabs Investment Research, as investors fear the impact of a scaling back of the U.S. Federal Reserve's bond purchasing program.
"Fund investors are unloading bonds at a record pace. The combined outflow of $47.2 billion is the highest in any month on record, handily eclipsing the previous record of $41.8 billion in October 2008," said TrimTabs CEO David Santschi, in a report released on Monday.
The global sell-off in bonds began on May 22, after the minutes of the Fed's policy meeting signaled that its bond-buying program—which has suppressed yields and boosted stocks—could soon be pared back. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke echoed these comments at a press meeting last Wednesday, suggesting that asset purchases could be scaled back later this year, if economic data continued to show improvement.
(Read More: Bonds Could Lose $1 Trillion on Yield Spike: BIS)
Bond market outflows continued on Monday, pushing the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasurys to 2.61 percent, close to a 2-year high. Yields on euro zone government bonds also surged upwards, with German 10-year bund yields hitting 1.78 percent, a high not seen since April 2012.