Investors tiptoed back into taxable bond funds in April after a dramatic $221 billion in net outflows in March. The asset class saw about $14 billion in net new money during the month while equities continued to experience net outflows despite a 12% rebound in the S&P 500 index.
BlackRock and Prudential were the top managers during the month by net inflows. BlackRock's mutual funds added a net $3.8 billion during the month, while Prudential added $2.1 billion with inflows concentrated in their respective high-yield bond funds. The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield index was up 4.5% in April on news that the Fed would begin to support the market through corporate bond purchases and the $1 trillion stimulus plan to in part help small businesses.