Articles Marketmedia

Trends in Mutual Fund Investing: May 2016

Written by John D'Antona | Jun 30, 2016 4:05:44 AM

ICI.org – Washington, DC, – The combined assets of the nation’s mutual funds increased by $85.61 billion, or 0.5 percent, to $15.90 trillion in May, according to the Investment Company Institute’s official survey of the mutual fund industry. In the survey, mutual fund companies report actual assets, sales, and redemptions to ICI.

Total Net Assets of Mutual Funds*
Billions of dollars

May 2016

Apr 2016

% change

May 2015

Total long-term

13,198.5

13,101.1

0.7

13,727.8

Equity

8,261.8

8,186.3

0.9

8,757.2

Domestic equity

6,120.6

6,034.8

1.4

6,458.1

World equity

2,141.2

2,151.5

-0.5

2,299.1

Hybrid

1,366.5

1,361.3

0.4

1,428.1

Bond

3,570.1

3,553.5

0.5

3,542.5

Taxable bond

2,936.2

2,928.5

0.3

2,967.6

Municipal bond

634.0

625.0

1.4

    574.9

Total money market

2,705.6

2,717.4

-0.4

2,602.1

Taxable money market

2,497.4

2,503.1

-0.2

2,357.9

Tax-exempt money market

208.2

214.3

-2.8

244.2

Total

15,904.1

15,818.5

0.5

    16,329.9

* Data for exchange-traded funds and funds that invest primarily in other mutual funds were excluded from the series.

Note: Components may not add to the total because of rounding.

Net New Cash Flow of Mutual Funds*
Millions of dollars

May 2016

Apr 2016

Jan–May 2016

Jan–May 2015

Total long-term

-6,595

-4,424

-8,634

78,445

Equity

-18,084

-23,665

-47,765

21,723

Domestic equity

-17,665

-19,213

-64,071

-36,692

World equity

-419

-4,452

16,306

58,415

Hybrid

-1,403

262

-10,074

11,063

Bond

12,892

18,979

49,204

45,659

Taxable bond

5,593

13,400

21,958

37,181

Municipal bond

7,299

5,579

27,247

8,478

Total money market

-10,633

-37,544

-47,119

-125,369

Taxable money market

-4,559

-26,407

293

-108,773

Tax-exempt money market

-6,073

-11,137

-47,412

-16,596

Total

-17,228

-41,968

-55,753

-46,924

* Data for exchange-traded funds and funds that invest primarily in other mutual funds were excluded from the series.

Note: Components may not add to the total because of rounding.

Highlights: Long-term funds—equity, hybrid, and bond funds—had a net outflow of $6.59 billion in May, versus an outflow of $4.42 billion in April.

Equity funds posted an outflow of $18.08 billion in May, compared with an outflow of $23.66 billion in April. Among equity funds, world equity funds (U.S. funds that invest primarily overseas) posted an outflow of $419 million in May, versus an outflow of $4.45 billion in April. Funds that invest primarily in the United States had an outflow of $17.67 billion in May, versus an outflow of $19.21 billion in April. The liquidity ratio of equity funds (the percentage of liquid assets over total net assets) was 3.4 percent in May, unchanged from April.

Hybrid funds posted an outflow of $1.40 billion in May, compared with an inflow of $262 million in April.

Bond funds had an inflow of $12.89 billion in May, compared with an inflow of $18.98 billion in April. Taxable bond funds had an inflow of $5.59 billion in May, versus an inflow of $13.40 billion in April. Municipal bond funds had an inflow of $7.30 billion in May, compared with an inflow of $5.58 billion in April.

Money market funds had an outflow of $10.63 billion in May, compared with an outflow of $37.54 billion in April. In May funds offered primarily to institutions had an inflow of $667 million and funds offered primarily to individuals had an outflow of $11.30 billion.

Number of Mutual Funds

 

May 2016

Apr 2016

May 2015

Total long-term

7,682

7,667

7,480

      Equity

4,784

4,776

4,694

Domestic equity

3,266

3,265

3,260

World equity

1,518

1,511

1,434

      Hybrid

725

722

681

      Bond

2,173

2,169

2,105

Taxable bond

1,596

1,592

1,547

Municipal bond

577

577

558

Total money market

450

456

520

      Taxable money market

321

327

359

      Tax-exempt money market

129

129

161

Total

8,132

8,123

8,000

* Data for exchange-traded funds and funds that invest primarily in other mutual funds were excluded from the series.

About ICI’s Data

Data for prior dates reflect revisions due to data adjustments, reclassifications, and changes in the number of funds reporting. For more information about ICI data and classifications, please visit our FAQs.