Sell-off sends investors running as stocks have second biggest outflow ever in first quarter

KEY POINTS

• A stunning $63.3 billion flowed out of U.S. stock funds in the first quarter, the second highest quarterly outflow ever.
• Global stock funds, however, saw a near equal amount of funds flow in, at $63.9 billion.
• Bond funds saw significant inflows of $61.8 billion, despite losses.

People walk outside of the New York Stock Exchange on April 2, 2018 in New York City.

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A stunning $63.3 billion left U.S. stock funds in the first quarter, the second largest ever, while $63.9 billion poured into global equities funds.

Trim Tabs said the U.S. outflows from mutual funds and exchange-traded funds were second only to the $68 billion that left U.S. equity funds in the third quarter of 2011.

The flows out of the U.S. and into global funds showed a huge divergence, but the performance was nearly identical. Trim Tabs said the global equity funds were down 0.5 percent, while U.S. funds declined 0.7 percent.

U.S. equity mutual funds lost $74.6 billion, while ETFs still had slight inflows of $11.3 billion, the lowest in the past eight quarters. Global equity inflows were at a three quarter high.

Bond funds saw strong demand, even with continuing losses. The funds received $61.8 billion, in line with recent quarters as retail investors did most of the buying, Trim Tabs said. Bond ETF inflows dropped to $13.5 billion, the lowest level in five quarters.