Most stock funds lost money

Northwestern Financial Review, Mar 15, 2001

Investors lost money in 63 percent of U.S. equity mutual funds last year for an average loss of 4.45 percent, according to Weiss Ratings Inc. In contrast, 90 percent of bond mutual funds delivered positive returns to investors in 2000, for an average return of 7.68 percent. "Many of the funds experiencing the biggest run-up in 1999 turned out to be the most likely to crash and burn in 2000," commented Martin Weiss, firm president.

Of the 2,410 equity mutual funds delivering gains in 2000, growth funds dominated the group followed by small cap funds and growth/income funds.