BlackRock’s ETF provider, iShares, topped the list of asset-gatherers last month, while Swiss bank Credit Suisse led the firms facing significant redemptions, according to data compiled by Morningstar.
In terms of net fund inflows, iShares, which manages 796 billion in assets, led with 8.4 billion euro in inflows last month. Capital Group and J.P. Morgan garnered the second- and third-largest inflows in May, with 6.0 billion euro and 4.6 billion euro, respectively.
Credit Suisse led the list of outflows among fund houses with 3.69 billion euro in outflows last month, followed by Columbia Threadneedle and Aviva, who, along with Eurizon, Baillie Gifford, and Morgan Stanley, all faced more than one billion euro in outflows.
Fund providers with the largest net inflows
Regarding individual funds, Capital Group Global New Perspective, a Luxembourg-domiciled fund, had inflows of 5.7 billion euro in May after launching a new share class. Kutxabank RF Horizonte 18 FI, distributed only in Spain, recorded 1.1 billion euro of net outflows in the month.
Funds with the largest net inflows
Vanguard bucks S&P 500 ETF inflow trend
The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, which has 81 billion euro in assets, attracted 1.04 billion in fresh funds in May, making it one of the top 10 funds in terms of inflows. In the last year, investors poured some 11.8 billion into this fund, making it the number two after the Pimco GIS Income fund, which attracted 12.9 billion in the last 12 months and 1.70 billion in May.
While iShares and also State Street’s SPDR S&P 500 ETF attracted significant funds, Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF experienced 760 million in outflows, leaving it with 48.0 billion in assets at the end of May.
Strong return to equity
Morningstar, in its monthly fund flows report, noted that investors made a strong return to equity funds in May, driving significant net inflows across various fund categories. Europe-domiciled long-term funds experienced 54 billion euro in net inflows, marking the best monthly result for 2024 so far.
May’s robust inflows reflect renewed investor optimism, driven by hopes of interest-rate cuts and positive economic growth data, Morningstar said. The equity market, particularly in developed regions, showed strong performance, encouraging a shift back into riskier assets. Meanwhile, the fixed-income market continued to benefit from its safe-haven status amid ongoing economic uncertainties.
Equity funds led the charge with nearly 30 billion euro in net inflows, rebounding from previous losses. Both passive and active strategies attracted substantial new investments, with passive strategies securing 20.3 billion euro and active funds drawing in 9.7 billion euro. This marked the end of a 14-month period of monthly net outflows for active equity funds.
Fixed-income strategies also maintained strong momentum, accumulating just over 30 billion euro in net inflows. This marked the 18th month of positive flows in the last 19 months. Notably, the fixed-term bond category and ultra-short-term bond funds were the top performers.
Funds classified under Article 8 of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) saw 18.7 billion euro in net inflows, their best monthly result since December 2022. In contrast, Article 9 products experienced net outflows of 617 million euro.
Alternative funds struggle
Allocation and alternative funds continued to struggle, with net outflows of 4.1 billion euro and 1.2 billion euro, respectively.
Allocation strategies have seen only one positive month since December 2022, while alternative funds have faced net outflows every month since June 2022.