ETF Assets Decrease in May

June 7, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - ETF industry assets fell $22.7 billion for the month of May - down 2%, according to State Street Global Advisors’ latest ETF Snapshot report.

ETF flows were negative in May, down $218 million, the first month of outflows since August of 2010. The Size – Large Cap category had the most outflows, losing $8 billion, after posting $6.7 billion in inflows in April. The Commodity category also had a large amount of outflows, with $3.4 billion leaving the category.   

After a strong April, Commodities retreated 6.9% in May, the report said. International – Developed and Emerging Markets also gave back, falling 2.8% and 2.6%, respectively. Domestic Large Cap, Mid Cap and Small Cap markets all regressed approximately 1%, while the US Aggregate Bond, the US Treasury Bond, and the US Corporate Bond markets returned approximately 1.5%.   

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The top three managers in the U.S. ETF marketplace at the end of May were BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard. Collectively, they account for approximately 83% of the U.S. listed ETF market.   

The top three ETFs in terms of dollar volume traded for the month were the SPDR S&P 500 [SPY], iShares Russell 2000 [IWM], and iShares Silver Trust [SLV]. The top three ETFs in terms of assets for the month were the SPDR S&P 500 [SPY], SPDR Gold Shares [GLD], and Vanguard Emerging Markets [VWO].

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