As the markets slowly make their recovery from the whipping they took in the last year, assets are flowing back into exchange traded funds (ETFs), a trend that continued through May.
May ended with $588 billion in assets, up nearly 10% in just one month, according to the National Stock Exchange. The total number of ETFs and exchange traded notes (ETNs), however, declined slightly month to month – 829 at the end of May, compared to 844 in April. That’s still an 8% gain over a year ago.
The month of April proved to be a reversal of fortune, as the inflows began to seep back into both mutual funds and ETFs. Domestic and global equity funds, and ETFs, respectively posted net inflows of $8.5 billion and $6.9 billion, says Sue Asci for Investment News.
The previous month of March posted domestic equity funds with net outflows of $18.8 billion, and international/global stock funds with outflows of $13.7 billion, FRC reported.
Through April 30, the fund that was the best-seller was Vanguard Total Bond Market II (VBTIX) with $18.7 billion. The market may be ready to turn, however, the best way to approach it is with an entry and exit strategy. This is also an opportunity for ETFs to garner much of the market share that mutual funds used to dominate.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.