Overview of US ETF and Mutual Fund Asset Flows from April 30, 2023, to April 30, 2024
The largest asset class that experienced the largest outflows was the Mixed Asset category, and the largest inflows were Bonds. DDW excludes money market asset class because money market funds are specific to mutual funds, not ETFs.
Source: Lipper
When combining mutual funds and ETFs, the asset classes that saw outflows during this period were mixed asset and commodity categories. When you look at just ETFs, as last quarter, the commodities category was the only asset class that experienced outflows within ETFs. The asset class within ETFs that saw the most significant inflows was equity, followed by bonds. The flows into equity on the ETF side were 238% times more than bonds. The inflows to equity were positive on the ETF and negative on the mutual fund side. Every mutual category experienced outflows during this period except bonds.
Source: Lipper
When digging into the numbers and looking at mutual funds and ETFs separately for bonds, the flows for mutual funds and ETFs were positive. This shows that investors find value in bond mutual funds and ETFs because both flows were positive.
In analyzing the bond mutual fund and ETF flows, the three asset classes within the bond category that saw the most significant inflows were Core Bond Funds, General U.S. Treasury Funds, and Multi Sector Income. The asset class within bonds that saw the largest outflows was Short Term Investment Grade Debt Funds. This shows that investors are moving away from short-term asset classes within the bond category and investing in longer-duration asset classes.
The combined flows for equity were negative, but the ETF flows were positive. The only thing that made the combined flows positive was the amount of inflows from equity on the ETF side. This is similar to last quarter when mutual funds and ETFs are going in opposite directions, but the combined flows are positive this time.
Source: Lipper
In analyzing the equity mutual fund and ETF flows, the asset classes within the equity category that saw the most significant inflows were S&P 500 Index Funds, Options Arbitrage / Opt Strategies Funds, and International Multi-Cap Core.
Equity Income Funds were the asset class within equity that saw the most significant outflows. The three largest outflows by category were Equity Income Funds, Large Cap Value Funds, and International Large Cap Growth Funds.
DDW noticed in the numbers that investors are dumping their mutual funds and investing in assets in the same category, ETFs. This can be seen in the table below, with Large Cap Growth and Multi-Cap Core.
The combined flows for commodities were negative. Both mutual funds and ETFs were negative. This is due to the outflows on the ETF side in the Precious Metals Funds, Commodities General Funds, and Agriculture Funds. The outflow shows that investors are not looking to diversify with commodities.
The combined flows for commodities were negative. Both mutual funds and ETFs were negative. This is due to the outflows on the ETF side in the Precious Metals Funds, Commodities General Funds, and Agriculture Funds. The outflow shows that investors are not looking to diversify with commodities.
Source: Lipper