Mutual fund flows have consistently exited the high-yield market over recent weeks, indicating waning buy-side demand. Money streamed out of the high-yield market for five consecutive weeks as BW went to press, bringing the year-to-date total to $3.7 billion of assets withdrawn, roughly 3% of the asset class. Chris Garman, head of high-yield strategy at Merrill Lynch, said fund flows are historically 92% correlated with performance. "It's a pretty reliable gauge of secondary market performance," he stated. The negative flows are partially a function of rising interest rates as well as credit events, he noted.
Funds Stream Out Of High Yield
