Mutual fund sales rebounded in May, assets rose and ETF sales and assets also gained, according to new data from the Securities and Investment Management Association (SIMA).
The industry trade group reported that mutual funds recorded $3.9 billion in monthly net sales for May, reversing the $1.5 billion in net redemptions recorded in April.
Through the first five months of the year, fund sales reached $15.7 billion, compared with net redemptions of $1.6 billion for the same period last year.
The bond category led mutual fund net sales for May, with nearly $3.1 billion, up from just $48 million in April.
Specialty funds ranked second with $805 million in net sales, up from $438 million the previous month. The balanced category turned positive too, recording $409 million in net sales for May, following $2.6 billion in redemptions in April.
The equity category was the only broad asset class to see sales slip in May, with $211 million in net redemptions, down from positive net sales of $395 million in April.
SIMA reported that mutual fund assets also rose in May after three straight monthly declines.
Overall, mutual fund assets under management (AUM) increased by 3.4% in May, rising by $75.9 billion to $2.3 trillion, driven by rebounding markets.
ETF assets recorded even stronger gains, rising 5.0% in May to $573.9 billion. The increase followed two months of asset declines for ETFs, SIMA noted.
The gains in ETF assets were primarily driven by markets, but net sales also contributed, with ETF net sales rising to $8.8 billion in May, up from $7.2 billion in April.
Equity ETFs continued to lead with $3.9 billion in net sales, though this was down from $4.9 billion in April.
Bond ETF sales surged in May, rising to more than $3.1 billion, up from just $75 million in April.
Balanced fund sales remained relatively flat at $694 million in May, compared with $629 million the previous month. Specialty fund sales climbed to $947 million, up from $737 million in April.
Through the first five months of the year, ETF net sales totalled $48.6 billion, with almost half ($24 billion) in equity funds. Bond ETFs contributed more than $12 billion in year-to-date net sales.
Over the past 12 months, total ETF assets are up 33.8%, while mutual fund assets rose 11.5%.