The Growth Fund of America[see profile] is now only the second largest U.S. equity mutual fund, Bloomberg reports, as investors pulled $3.3 billion out of the fund in August.

The title of goliath mutual fund now belongs to the $139 billion Vanguard Total Stock Market Index[see profile]. American Funds spokesman Chuck Freadhoff dispelled any concerns that the firm may have of playing second fiddle to its competitor. “To the extent that outflows reflect disappointment among our investors, we take them very seriously,” he told the pub. “But we don’t care that the Vanguard fund is larger than Growth Fund of America. It’s an interesting fact but it has no significance.”

American Funds, whose redemptions are rising for the fourth year in a row, is reportedly taking steps to improve communications with advisors by providing more frequent reports on its outlook for the global economy and markets. And starting next year, the firm will hit the social media circuit to make educational material available to the public.

But the firm isn’t changing its research-based process for selecting investments or broadening its product line beyond active mutual funds, Freadhoff said. 

Edited by: Hung Tran


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