UPDATE 1-Japan June retail trust funds value up to $618 bln
* Value hits nine-month high of $618 billion
* Stock funds value rises to 45.9 trillion yen
* Inflows into stock funds hit highest since Dec 2007
TOKYO, July 13 (Reuters) - The value of Japanese retail- targeted mutual funds rose 1.6 percent to a nine-month high of $618 billion in June, boosted by a rise in share prices and inflows into equities funds, an industry body said on Monday.
Japanese retail investors have regained confidence amid a clearer outlook for the global economy, with asset management companies offering more funds to lure individual investors who are looking to recoup previous losses, the industry body said.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 rose 4.6 percent and the broader Topix index gained 3.6 percent in June, helping to push up the overall value.
The value of retail-targeted investment trust funds, or "toshins", rose by 874.9 billion yen to 57.1 trillion yen ($618 billion) in June from the previous month, Japan's Investment Trusts Association said.
Net inflows in publicly placed toshin fell to 46.6 billion yen in June, from 504.9 billion yen the previous month.
"We've seen investor confidence restored after the overall value declined to around 49 trillion yen (in January) as the market became overly pessimistic," Fumio Inui, the association's vice president, told a news conference.
The value of stock investment trust funds, which make up 80 percent of the total, rose for the fifth straight month to 45.9 trillion yen, up 2.7 percent or 1.2 trillion yen from May.
Inflows into stock funds totalled 1.73 trillion yen -- the highest since December 2007. Stock funds also saw a big outflow of 1.35 trillion yen -- the highest since October 2007.
The value of bond funds fell for the first time since March to 8.65 trillion yen, down 3.1 percent or 278.7 billion yen from the previous month.
Inui said investors may have sought higher returns by shifting into stock funds and pulling out of bond funds.
Retail-targeted trust fund holdings of foreign stocks, bonds and money market instruments increased by 726.7 billion yen to 25.7 trillion yen in June, the association said.
Foreign stock investments rose by 249.4 billion yen to 16.9 trillion yen in June, making up 65.9 percent of total overseas asset holdings.
Foreign bond holdings rose by 265.5 billion yen to 5.06 trillion yen, comprising 19.7 percent of total overseas holdings.
The value of privately placed investment trust funds, which are mainly bought by institutions, climbed 2.8 percent, or 754.5 billion yen, to 27.8 trillion yen -- the highest since September 2008. (Reporting by Chikafumi Hodo; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
