Investors took the “sell in May and go away” adage to heart last month as they pulled $11.7 billion from U.S.-listed ETFs. It was the worst showing for flows this year, and broke a three-month streak of net monthly inflows.
May’s outflows coincided with a steep drop in U.S. stock prices. The S&P 500 logged its worst month of the year, with a 6.5% loss. An intensifying trade war with China, a fresh trade/immigration battle with Mexico and decelerating economic data combined to dampen investors’ spirits.
Following the latest monthly outflows, year-to-date inflows for U.S.-listed ETFs dropped to $68.1 billion, well behind last year’s $121.9 billion pace.
Outflows From Trader Favorites
Equity ETFs faced the brunt of May’s redemptions. Outflows from U.S. equity ETFs totaled $12.5 billion, while outflows from international equity ETFs totaled $3.6 billion.
ETFs that are trader favorites, like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM), found themselves on the top outflows list for the month.
On the other hand, cheaper broad market alternatives, including the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) and the iShares Core MSCI EAFE (IEFA)—ETFs popular with long-term investors—managed to attract inflows in the face of market sell-off.
So too did the iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol U.S.A. ETF (USMV), a low vol factor ETF that tends to be less volatile than the broader stock market.
Safe Haven Bond ETFs
While equities were getting hammered and seeing outflows, U.S. fixed income ETFs continued to be a safe haven. The U.S. 10-year Treasury surged as its yield plummeted to 2.12% at the end of May, the lowest level in 21 months (bond prices and yields move inversely).
In turn, U.S. fixed income ETFs had net inflows of $6.2 billion during May, with much of that going into the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND), the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) and the iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF (GOVT).
On the other hand, riskier fixed income ETFs, such as the iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) and the SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield bond ETF (JNK), faced outflows of more than $1.4 billion each.
For a full list of the top inflows and outflows for May, see the tables below:
Top Gainers (May 2019)
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($M) | % of AUM | YTD 2019 Net Flows($,M) |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | BlackRock | 2,001.71 | 171,846.99 | 1.16% | 5,368.74 |
| BND | Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | Vanguard | 1,494.08 | 40,010.16 | 3.73% | 2,225.71 |
| AGG | iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | BlackRock | 1,242.93 | 61,897.54 | 2.01% | 3,021.98 |
| IEFA | iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF | BlackRock | 1,214.39 | 62,554.98 | 1.94% | 6,053.65 |
| USMV | iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol U.S.A. ETF | BlackRock | 1,194.15 | 26,547.16 | 4.50% | 4,956.97 |
| SUSL | iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF | BlackRock | 1,129.16 | 1,112.52 | 101.50% | 1,129.16 |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | Vanguard | 801.11 | 109,967.52 | 0.73% | 4,325.56 |
| XLK | Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund | State Street Global Advisors | 735.83 | 20,331.29 | 3.62% | -11.30 |
| GOVT | iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF | BlackRock | 687.86 | 10,713.17 | 6.42% | 3,546.08 |
| ITOT | iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF | BlackRock | 661.92 | 19,589.25 | 3.38% | 2,674.52 |
Top Gainers (Year-to-Date)
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($M) | % of AUM | May 2019 Net Flows($,M) |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | Vanguard | 6,695.52 | 107,696.10 | 6.22% | 237.55 |
| IEFA | iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF | BlackRock | 6,053.65 | 62,554.98 | 9.68% | 1,214.39 |
| IEMG | iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | BlackRock | 5,384.51 | 56,175.50 | 9.59% | 94.84 |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | BlackRock | 5,368.74 | 171,846.99 | 3.12% | 2,001.71 |
| USMV | iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol U.S.A. ETF | BlackRock | 4,956.97 | 26,547.16 | 18.67% | 1,194.15 |
| VCIT | Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF | Vanguard | 4,778.72 | 24,211.48 | 19.74% | 616.96 |
| TLT | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | BlackRock | 4,722.49 | 14,071.20 | 33.56% | 346.99 |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | Vanguard | 4,325.56 | 109,967.52 | 3.93% | 801.11 |
| BNDX | Vanguard Total International Bond ETF | Vanguard | 3,839.38 | 17,237.69 | 22.27% | 537.40 |
| MBB | iShares MBS ETF | BlackRock | 3,792.99 | 16,396.83 | 23.13% | 53.36 |
Biggest Losers (May 2019)
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($M) | % of AUM | YTD 2019 Net Flows($,M) |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | State Street Global Advisors | -12,432.53 | 251,982.23 | -4.93% | -18,815.18 |
| QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust | Invesco | -2,349.40 | 68,671.84 | -3.42% | -1,224.53 |
| EEM | iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | BlackRock | -2,033.47 | 30,719.89 | -6.62% | 441.05 |
| HYG | iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | BlackRock | -1,612.46 | 14,802.70 | -10.89% | 884.27 |
| JNK | SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF | State Street Global Advisors | -1,402.86 | 8,369.50 | -16.76% | 1,157.29 |
| DIA | SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust | State Street Global Advisors | -1,244.98 | 20,021.23 | -6.22% | -1,484.85 |
| XLE | Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund | State Street Global Advisors | -1,135.32 | 11,201.60 | -10.14% | -3,042.34 |
| EMB | iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF | BlackRock | -1,132.75 | 14,477.90 | -7.82% | -593.45 |
| XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | State Street Global Advisors | -1,067.07 | 23,293.92 | -4.58% | -1,931.70 |
| LQD | iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | BlackRock | -1,046.01 | 31,426.24 | -3.33% | -311.71 |
Biggest Losers (Year-to-Date)
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($M) | % of AUM | May 2019 Net Flows($,M) |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | State Street Global Advisors | -18,815.18 | 251,982.23 | -7.47% | -12,432.53 |
| EFA | iShares MSCI EAFE ETF | BlackRock | -6,828.07 | 60,624.44 | -11.26% | 0.00 |
| BSV | Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF | Vanguard | -5,845.06 | 22,492.85 | -25.99% | -79.51 |
| IWM | iShares Russell 2000 ETF | BlackRock | -5,372.00 | 39,664.67 | -13.54% | -940.15 |
| IWD | iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF | BlackRock | -4,127.77 | 36,806.23 | -11.21% | -247.93 |
| EWJ | iShares MSCI Japan ETF | BlackRock | -3,213.16 | 12,722.10 | -25.26% | -1,023.61 |
| XLE | Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund | State Street Global Advisors | -3,042.34 | 11,201.60 | -27.16% | -1,135.32 |
| TIP | iShares TIPS Bond ETF | BlackRock | -2,363.07 | 19,928.76 | -11.86% | -931.22 |
| XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | State Street Global Advisors | -1,931.70 | 23,293.92 | -8.29% | -1,067.07 |
| XLI | Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund | State Street Global Advisors | -1,855.09 | 9,682.50 | -19.16% | -497.33 |
Asset Classes (May 2019)
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| U.S. Equity | -12,480.00 | 2,113,975.65 | -0.59% |
| International Equity | -3,560.90 | 793,833.39 | -0.45% |
| U.S. Fixed Income | 6,167.03 | 654,152.23 | 0.94% |
| International Fixed Income | -775.66 | 73,563.62 | -1.05% |
| Commodities | -833.09 | 60,622.88 | -1.37% |
| Currency | 24.67 | 1,502.53 | 1.64% |
| Leveraged | 53.56 | 34,619.40 | 0.15% |
| Inverse | 82.14 | 12,567.90 | 0.65% |
| Asset Allocation | 6.59 | 9,373.35 | 0.07% |
| Alternatives | -349.76 | 4,563.37 | -7.66% |
| Total: | -11,665.42 | 3,758,774.32 | -0.31% |
Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| U.S. Equity | 13,823.34 | 2,113,975.65 | 0.65% |
| International Equity | 8,490.41 | 793,833.39 | 1.07% |
| U.S. Fixed Income | 42,086.76 | 654,152.23 | 6.43% |
| International Fixed Income | 5,750.63 | 73,563.62 | 7.82% |
| Commodities | -2,795.79 | 60,622.88 | -4.61% |
| Currency | -280.65 | 1,502.53 | -18.68% |
| Leveraged | -1,794.81 | 34,619.40 | -5.18% |
| Inverse | 2,768.51 | 12,567.90 | 22.03% |
| Asset Allocation | -512.64 | 9,373.35 | -5.47% |
| Alternatives | 553.24 | 4,563.37 | 12.12% |
| Total: | 68,089.01 | 3,758,774.32 | 1.81% |
May 2019 League Table
| Issuer | Net Flows ($,M) | AUM ($,M) | % of AUM | YTD 2019 Net Flows($,M) |
| BlackRock | -213.54 | 1,476,808.94 | -0.01% | 24,627.34 |
| Vanguard | 7,034.11 | 964,928.80 | 0.73% | 30,025.18 |
| State Street Global Advisors | -19,017.38 | 601,760.78 | -3.16% | -22,660.36 |
| Invesco | -3,037.71 | 192,894.54 | -1.57% | 2,811.24 |
| Charles Schwab | 2,090.82 | 135,780.55 | 1.54% | 10,392.84 |
| First Trust | 475.86 | 72,370.52 | 0.66% | 4,796.97 |
| WisdomTree | -111.77 | 37,751.54 | -0.30% | 0.10 |
| VanEck | 325.76 | 34,274.25 | 0.95% | -881.64 |
| ProShares | -330.44 | 30,298.07 | -1.09% | 1,387.97 |
| JPMorgan | 1,125.73 | 27,619.21 | 4.08% | 6,174.76 |
| Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC | -161.23 | 18,809.08 | -0.86% | 132.72 |
| Northern Trust | -87.73 | 15,005.01 | -0.58% | -80.82 |
| Deutsche Bank AG | -402.50 | 13,465.15 | -2.99% | 1,619.47 |
| FMR | 135.94 | 13,173.33 | 1.03% | 1,225.31 |
| Goldman Sachs Group | 506.12 | 12,126.76 | 4.17% | 1,314.84 |
| SS&C | -238.30 | 12,046.86 | -1.98% | -834.29 |
| Rafferty Asset Management, LLC | 564.58 | 11,979.98 | 4.71% | -590.76 |
| Mirae Asset Financial Group | 191.60 | 9,720.66 | 1.97% | 1,067.18 |
| UBS | 73.03 | 6,959.60 | 1.05% | 163.82 |
| Barclays Bank PLC | -237.43 | 4,915.25 | -4.83% | 658.61 |
| Credit Suisse Group | -195.40 | 4,489.74 | -4.35% | 1,123.79 |
| Pacer Financial, Inc. | 184.65 | 4,236.94 | 4.36% | 1,033.48 |
| John Hancock | 30.58 | 3,875.33 | 0.79% | 817.19 |
| New York Life Insurance | -47.41 | 3,652.57 | -1.30% | -571.01 |
| ETF Managers Group | 11.39 | 3,624.00 | 0.31% | 392.75 |
| Hartford Financial Services Group | 124.82 | 3,323.36 | 3.76% | 793.01 |
| The Principal Financial Group | -396.64 | 3,261.53 | -12.16% | -13.23 |
| Victory Capital Management | -60.78 | 3,011.57 | -2.02% | -104.50 |
| Exchange Traded Concepts | -73.62 | 2,757.93 | -2.67% | -5.22 |
| ARK | 24.64 | 2,632.83 | 0.94% | 455.69 |
| Franklin Templeton Investments | 27.95 | 2,511.40 | 1.11% | 801.11 |
| Standard Life Aberdeen | -18.92 | 2,382.61 | -0.79% | -37.02 |
| US Commodity Funds | -31.38 | 2,252.47 | -1.39% | -539.27 |
| KraneShares | -275.21 | 2,246.28 | -12.25% | 89.01 |
| Vident Advisory | 0.61 | 1,639.91 | 0.04% | 53.14 |
| Innovator Capital Management | 162.02 | 1,384.46 | 11.70% | 574.44 |
| USAA Asset Management | 32.71 | 1,331.72 | 2.46% | 159.06 |
| Northern Lights | 29.54 | 1,319.84 | 2.24% | 239.51 |
| Janus Henderson | 2.60 | 1,111.43 | 0.23% | 102.42 |
| Virtus | -37.59 | 1,029.94 | -3.65% | 339.57 |
| Legg Mason | -62.05 | 1,020.29 | -6.08% | 178.42 |
| Nuveen | 12.86 | 772.20 | 1.67% | 186.45 |
| Transamerica | 0.00 | 763.08 | 0.00% | -7.95 |
| CitiGroup | 11.96 | 748.91 | 1.60% | -204.53 |
| Cambria Investment Management, L.P. | 9.48 | 694.41 | 1.36% | 55.32 |
| Millington Securities Inc | -31.11 | 660.40 | -4.71% | -126.26 |
| Bank of Montreal | 0.00 | 648.49 | 0.00% | -17.72 |
| Davis Selected Advisers, L.P. | 9.63 | 641.83 | 1.50% | 46.54 |
| AdvisorShares | 22.51 | 641.40 | 3.51% | 20.01 |
| O’Shares Investment Advisers | 5.21 | 622.77 | 0.84% | 2.14 |
| Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC | -34.26 | 619.55 | -5.53% | -24.59 |
| GraniteShares | 48.30 | 572.93 | 8.43% | 191.44 |
| Amplify Investments LLC | -1.83 | 492.11 | -0.37% | -43.59 |
| PGIM Investments | 60.10 | 429.66 | 13.99% | 155.99 |
| Empowered Funds LLC | -8.37 | 388.73 | -2.15% | -6.92 |
| Montage Managers | 1.21 | 348.19 | 0.35% | 16.50 |
| Nationwide Fund Advisors | 0.67 | 348.13 | 0.19% | -3.26 |
| Highland Capital Management | -99.45 | 282.94 | -35.15% | -102.76 |
| Aptus Capital Advisors | 8.08 | 256.51 | 3.15% | 41.44 |
| Strategy Shares | -8.74 | 252.36 | -3.46% | -26.28 |
| Matson Money, Inc. | 2.79 | 247.38 | 1.13% | 42.01 |
| Reality Shares | -3.85 | 194.53 | -1.98% | -26.51 |
| Teucrium | 15.42 | 183.16 | 8.42% | 29.11 |
| Merk | 0.00 | 144.15 | 0.00% | 0.90 |
| Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC | -1.30 | 142.48 | -0.91% | -20.08 |
| ClearShares | 0.00 | 137.17 | 0.00% | 3.70 |
| Nomura Holdings | 30.01 | 130.96 | 22.92% | 46.47 |
| TrimTabs Asset Management | -0.89 | 129.72 | -0.69% | -5.64 |
| Aware Asset Management | 3.75 | 123.41 | 3.04% | 122.92 |
| Timothy Partners Ltd. | 102.80 | 102.77 | 100.03% | 102.80 |
| EntrepreneurShares LLC | 5.01 | 90.23 | 5.55% | 16.75 |
| FQF Trust | 19.19 | 85.20 | 22.52% | 31.00 |
| Defiance ETFs | 2.84 | 83.64 | 3.40% | 86.85 |
| US Global Investors | -3.13 | 83.42 | -3.76% | -16.67 |
| Exponential ETFs | 0.81 | 76.68 | 1.05% | 6.84 |
| Redwood Investment Management | 1.21 | 59.71 | 2.02% | 6.98 |
| Tidal ETF Services | 8.58 | 53.04 | 16.18% | 55.36 |
| Natixis | 0.00 | 52.94 | 0.00% | 2.01 |
| Syntax | 0.00 | 45.66 | 0.00% | 40.78 |
| OBP Capital LLC | 0.00 | 44.89 | 0.00% | 1.22 |
| RYZZ Capital Management | 0.00 | 44.73 | 0.00% | 46.25 |
| Gadsden | -0.61 | 44.44 | -1.38% | 23.02 |
| Premise Capital | 1.51 | 39.72 | 3.79% | 5.94 |
| Renaissance Capital | -1.51 | 39.68 | -3.80% | 19.73 |
| AAM Holdings | 0.00 | 37.69 | 0.00% | 14.79 |
| Distillate Capital Partners | 3.33 | 36.04 | 9.23% | 17.03 |
| Cboe Global Markets | 0.00 | 31.99 | 0.00% | 8.45 |
| Pacific Global ETF | 0.00 | 30.09 | 0.00% | 30.64 |
| AlphaMark Advisors, LLC | 0.00 | 22.54 | 0.00% | 0.00 |
| Morgan Stanley | 0.02 | 21.55 | 0.07% | -2.26 |
| Validea Capital Management | -1.32 | 20.71 | -6.38% | -1.32 |
| Metaurus Advisors | 0.00 | 18.31 | 0.02% | -0.60 |
| Active Weighting Advisors | 0.54 | 18.17 | 2.95% | -1.02 |
| Sage Advisory Services | 2.49 | 17.48 | 14.22% | 2.49 |
| Point Bridge Capital | -0.66 | 15.44 | -4.30% | -19.19 |
| iM Global Partner£lf£ | 15.00 | 15.31 | 97.95% | 15.00 |
| Salt Financial | 0.00 | 14.52 | 0.00% | 4.98 |
| CSOP Asset Management Ltd. | 0.00 | 11.90 | 0.00% | -1.61 |
| SL Advisors | 0.00 | 10.80 | 0.00% | 0.91 |
| Swank Capital | -1.23 | 8.48 | -14.51% | -1.23 |
| TigerShares | 0.00 | 7.93 | 0.00% | 1.32 |
| StrongVest | 0.00 | 7.66 | 0.00% | -1.25 |
| Change Finance | 1.06 | 7.09 | 14.95% | 2.08 |
| Impact Shares | -0.00 | 7.02 | -0.01% | 0.95 |
| USCF Advisers | 0.00 | 6.41 | 0.00% | -0.88 |
| ProcureAM | 3.92 | 6.38 | 61.51% | 6.42 |
| Cottonwood ETF Holdings LLC | 1.22 | 6.10 | 20.00% | 1.22 |
| Little Harbor Advisors | 0.00 | 5.77 | 0.00% | -0.56 |
| Hoya Capital Real Estate | 0.66 | 5.06 | 13.03% | 5.07 |
| Acquirers Funds LLC | 2.52 | 4.79 | 52.54% | 2.52 |
| Regents Park Funds | 0.00 | 4.31 | 0.00% | -1.13 |
| EquBot | 0.00 | 3.57 | 0.00% | 0.00 |
| TriLine Index Solutions | -0.54 | 3.05 | -17.58% | -1.10 |
| Whitford Asset Management | 0.70 | 1.38 | 50.92% | 0.70 |
| Swedish Export Credit | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00% | 0.00 |
Disclaimer: All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern time the date the article is published. Data is believed to be accurate; however, transient market data is often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges.
