From The New York Times today:
“Investors withdrew a staggering $33.12 billion from domestic stock market mutual funds in the first seven months of this year, according to the Investment Company Institute, the mutual fund industry trade group. Now many are choosing investments they deem safer, like bonds. If that pace continues, more money will be pulled out of these mutual funds in 2010 than in any year since the 1980s, with the exception of 2008, when the global financial crisis peaked.”
It continues:
“‘At this stage in the economic cycle, $10 to $20 billion would normally be flowing into domestic equity funds’ rather than the billions that are flowing out, said Brian K. Reid, chief economist of the investment institute. He added, ‘This is very unusual.’“
This “stage in the economic cycle”? So there is a pattern since the summer of 2007 that we could have looked back at with expectations of future direction? “Unusual”? Unusual compared to what? This guy is held out as an expert and there is no there there. I don’t know Brian K. Reid, but he should be working at Burger King making Whoppers and not posing as a market useful voice.
