545 / 772
15
Morningstar FundInvestor
December 2015
Vanguard Index Funds Top Fund Flows
Two Vanguard index funds led the way in year-to-date
fund flows through October
2015
.
Vanguard Total
International Stock Index
VTIAX
has taken in
$54
billion and
Vanguard Total International Bond Index
VTIBX
has taken in
$18
billion. Some of that money
comes directly from fundholders, but a big chunk
comes from Vanguard’s target-date funds and other
funds of funds.
Third on the list is
Metropolitan West Total Return
Bond
MWTRX
, which has taken in
$17
billion this
year. It was the most popular choice of those fleeing
PIMCO Total Return
PTTRX
in the wake of Bill
Gross’ departure.
PIMCO Income
PONDX
is fourth, with
$10
billion in
inflows. Dan Ivascyn’s wide-ranging fund continues to
perform well even amid the controversy at
PIMCO
.
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index
VBTLX
is fifth,
with
$9
billion in inflows for the same reasons as the
two passive Vanguard funds above.
PIMCO Total Return Leads Outflows
On the flip side,
PIMCO
Total Return has suffered
$51
billion in outflows through the first
10
months
of
2015
. Although the pace has slowed, it is still in
redemptions. In October,
$2
.
5
billion left the fund.
Next is
Templeton Global Bond
TPINX
, which has
shed
$7
.
8
billion this year. Manager Michael
Hasenstab’s preference for emerging markets has
stung the fund this year, though his long-term
record remains strong.
Ivy Asset Strategy Fund
WASAX
has lost
$7
.
5
billion
so far. The fund is down
9%
this year because
of some bad timing and significant investments in
Macau gaming stocks. We downgraded the fund
to Neutral in June
2014
because of manager changes
and a number of other issues.
Columbia Acorn
ACRNX
is fourth, with
$7
billion in
outflows. A prolonged performance slump has
spurred the outflows. As we have mentioned before,
we are concerned that those outflows could hinder
performance as it can be difficult to manage outflows
at a fund that invests heavily in small caps.
Goldman Sachs Strategic Income
GSZAX
is fifth,
with
$6
.
1
billion in outflows. Although the fund
is supposed to adeptly time interest-rate moves, it has
been on the wrong side of some duration calls of late.
We rate the fund Neutral.
Correction on Fidelity Capital & Income
The November issue of
FundInvestor
incorrectly stated
that
Fidelity Capital & Income
FAGIX
was under-
performing in
2015
because of an overweighting in
CCC
debt. In fact, the fund has an underweighting
in
CCC
s relative to its benchmark.
Two Vanguard Dividend Funds Set to Launch
Vanguard expects to launch two dividend-oriented
foreign-equity index funds in December. The funds
will be available in open-end and exchange-traded
fund forms.
The funds are comparable to domestic counter-
parts that focus on dividend income and dividend
growth, respectively.
“Vanguard International High Dividend Yield Index
Fund will follow an income investing strategy,
which invests in companies with high dividend yields,
while Vanguard International Dividend Appreciation
Index Fund will emphasize stocks exhibiting dividend
growth,“ the firm said.
K