CHICAGO, June 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today reported estimated U.S. mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) asset flows for May 2016. Investors continued to allocate money to fixed income, with taxable- and municipal-bond funds attracting $15.4 billion and $8.2 billion, respectively. International-equity funds sustained outflows across the board, active and passive, prompted by concerns over Britain's potential exit from the European Union. Morningstar estimates net flow for mutual funds by computing the change in assets not explained by the performance of the fund and net flow for ETFs by computing the change in shares outstanding.

Highlights from Morningstar's report about U.S. asset flows in May:     

• U.S. equity funds continued their pattern of passive inflows and active outflows. The category group's active offerings had outflows of $18.7 billion, while passive funds collected $8.1 billion.
• Flows to commodities funds spiked in May after a downward trend since February. The majority of inflows, $2.5 billion, went to passive funds, particularly precious metals.
• BlackRock/iShares suffered outflows of $4.8 billion in May; both active and passive flows were in negative territory. American Funds had another strong month, and year to date, American and T. Rowe Price are the only active providers among the 10 largest fund firms with net inflows.
• PIMCO Income, which has a Morningstar Analyst Rating™ of Silver, had inflows of $1.6 billion to best Gold-rated Metropolitan West Total Return Bond for the highest inflows among active funds in May. Templeton Global Bond, which has a Gold Analyst Rating, led active-fund outflows during the month with $1.2 billion.

To view the complete report, please visit http://www.global.morningstar.com/mayflows16. For more information about Morningstar Asset Flows, please visit http://global.morningstar.com/assetflows. 

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 of 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 products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on approximately 525,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on nearly 18 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than $180 billion in assets under advisement and management as of March 31, 2016. The company has operations in 27 countries.

Analyst Ratings are subjective in nature and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Analyst Ratings are based on Morningstar analysts' current expectations about future events and therefore involve unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Morningstar's expectations not to occur or to differ significantly from what was expected. Morningstar does not represent its Analyst Ratings to be guarantees nor should they be viewed as an assessment of a fund's or the fund's underlying securities' creditworthiness. This press release is for informational purposes only; it should not be considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the mutual funds noted within. 

©2016 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Media Contact:
Carling Spelhaug, +1 312 696-6150 or carling.spelhaug@morningstar.com

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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.