BOSTON — Investors pulled money from U.S. stock mutual funds in April as the market had its first losing month of the year.
Industry consultant Strategic Insight said on Thursday that net withdrawals from U.S. stock funds totaled $5.7 billion. Year-to-date, investors have pulled out a net $6 billion. That's even though the Standard & Poor's 500 index returned nearly 13 percent in the first three months of the year, including dividends, but declined slightly in April, losing 0.6 percent.
However, funds investing in foreign stocks attracted $10.4 billion in new cash in April. It was the biggest monthly intake by international funds since March 2011.
Net deposits into bond funds last month totaled nearly $22 billion. It was the eighth consecutive month that deposits into bond funds have exceeded withdrawals.