NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – The mutual fund trading practices of Bank of America, Janus, Bank One and Strong have come under heavy investigation thanks to recent allegations made by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, which – if true -
threaten to expose what may be the biggest scandal in the mutual fund industry's history.
Judging from preliminary fund flow information, however, investors are not exactly heading for the hills.
According to Robert Adler, president of fund flow tracker AMG Data, estimated cash flows for the week ended Sept. 17 for Bank One's OneGroup funds and Bank of America's Nations funds were not unusual compared with their flows in the weeks preceding Spitzer's allegations. Nor, Adler added, were their flows notable relative to cash flows in other fund groups.
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That was also the case for Janus funds, he said, which was the only one of the three to experience net outflows in both its stock and bond funds.
"It doesn't appear investors have responded at all," said Adler, who noted that data for the Strong Funds is not available on a weekly basis.
According to AMG Data estimates, Janus, which had $152 billion in assets under management at the end of August, had a $600 million net outflow from its equity funds and $93 million outflow from its bond funds. But, Adler noted, "Their funds have experienced net redemptions virtually every week since April."
Morningstar, which last week issued a sell recommendation to investors in all four of the fund families, had noted that investors in Janus funds -- with the exception of its subadvised funds -- might be better served elsewhere not only because of Spitzer's allegations but because of poor bear-market performance and the departures of top managers. (Click here to read the exchange between Janus CEO Mark Whiston and Morningstar founder Joe Mansueto about Morningstar's sell recommendation.)
Janus spokeswoman Shelly Peterson said she could not comment on weekly flow estimates. When asked whether the company was receiving more requests for redemptions, she said she couldn't comment on redemption calls per se but noted, "We've seen an increase in shareholder call volume. But it's been slight." The majority of the callers have been seeking clarification on market timing issues, she said.
Bank of America's Nations Funds, meanwhile, experienced an estimated inflow of $9 million in its stock funds while there was little net change in its bond funds. Bank One's One Group funds had an estimated net inflow of $56 million.
Spitzer alleged that the fund companies were complicit in allowing hedge fund Canary Capital Partners to engage in fraudulent trading schemes that violated the fund companies' fiduciary duty to shareholders. Canary's managing principal, Edward Stern, agreed to pay $30 million in restitution and a $10 million penalty to settle the charges against his firm without admitting or denying wrongdoing.
Except for Strong, all of the fund families have said in writing they would make restitution to shareholders for any harm caused by the trading schemes Spitzer alleges.
In the meantime, Spitzer's office has begun to investigate other fund families, and several class-action lawsuits have been launched against Strong, Bank of America, Janus and Bank One on behalf of mutual fund shareholders.
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