Morningstar Reports U.S. Mutual Fund and ETF Asset Flows Through May 2011

CHICAGO, June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today reported estimated U.S. mutual fund and exchange-traded fund asset flows through May 2011. Estimated long-term mutual fund flows reached $22.6 billion in May, but this was still the fourth consecutive monthly decline since inflows of $29.8 billion in January. After inflows of $23.3 billion in April, U.S. ETFs lost about $3.1 billion to outflows in May.

Additional highlights from Morningstar's report on mutual fund flows:

• U.S. stock funds recorded their first significant outflows of the year, as the asset class lost $4.5 billion in May.
• Although inflows have slowed, international-stock funds collected assets of about $1.5 billion during the month. Diversified emerging-markets equity funds accounted for the majority of these inflows.
• For the fifth consecutive month, inflows increased for taxable-bond funds. Investors added $20.8 billion in new money to the asset class in May, but with a slightly diminished taste for credit risk. Flows into municipal-bond funds were flat after six consecutive months of outflows.
• Following a steep drop in silver and other commodity prices, commodities funds fell more than five percent on average and experienced outflows of more than $500 million in May.

Additional highlights from Morningstar's report on ETF flows:

• Although three U.S. stock ETFs placed in May's top-five ETFs by inflows, the U.S. stock asset class saw outflows of $2.7 billion during the month.
• Outflows from international-stock ETFs totaled $1.1 billion in May after inflows of $6.8 billion and $7.1 billion in March and April, respectively.
• Commodities ETFs realized the largest outflow of any ETF asset class in May, as investors withdrew $3.7 billion. May's redemptions also marked the single largest net monthly outflow for commodities ETFs.
• Taxable-bond ETFs made a healthy contribution to overall ETF flows again in May. The asset class' inflows of $2.1 billion were second only to alternative ETFs, which also saw inflows of about $2.1 billion.  

To view the complete report, please visit http://www.global.morningstar.com/mayflows11. For more information about Morningstar Fund Flows, please visit http://global.morningstar.com/fundflows.  

The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee or future results.

About Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of Internet, software, and print-based products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar provides data on approximately 390,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 5 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services and has nearly $140 billion in assets under advisement and management as of March. 31, 2011. The company has operations in 26 countries.

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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.