DOMESTIC investors are giving a cold shoulder to stock funds and piling into bonds, deposits and money market products, as demand for risky assets wanes. Fresh fundraising by equities and balanced mutual funds in China slumped 83% to 154.6 billion yuan (US$23 billion) between January and April, the lowest amount for the period in three years, according to data from fund consulting firm Z-Ben Advisors Ltd. Sales in April slumped to the least since August 2019. An index tracking the performance of Chinese active equity funds has plummeted 25% so far this year, compared with a 17% loss in the country’s benchmark index. The mutual fund industry’s disappointing sales performance is in stark contrast to the fervor it enjoyed last year, when product launches by star stock pickers easily bagged tens of billions of dollars from investors. (SD-Agencies) | 