Morningstar : Reports U.S. Mutual Fund and ETF Asset Flows for January 2016

International-equity, municipal-bond funds top inflows by category group

CHICAGO, Feb. 12, 2016-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 January 2016. After an unusual December in which U.S. equity led inflows by category group, international equity reclaimed its leading position in January with inflows of $9.9 billion. 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 January:

• Municipal-bond fund flows have been positive since October and on the rise in the last two months, suggesting investors are seeking the safety and tax breaks of municipal bonds amid rising interest rates and bond market uncertainty. Meanwhile, taxable-bond funds have experienced volatile, mostly negative flows since June and lost $3.5 billion to outflows in January.
• Commodities saw higher-than-normal inflows of $3.3 billion in January, with passive funds collecting most of the new assets. Precious metals funds had their first notable inflow in six months, led by SPDR® Gold Shares with inflows of $1.4 billion.
• The panic in the high-yield market following the closure of Third Avenue Focused Credit in December has somewhat subsided, but concerns remain over the sector's resilience in an environment of falling oil prices. Outflows continued in January, but they were much smaller than the $11.2 billion that exited the category in December.
• Among active funds, DoubleLine Total Return and PIMCO Income were investor fixed-income favorites in January, along with equity offerings Cambiar International Equity, American Funds Europacific Growth, and American Funds American Balanced.

To view the complete report, please visit http://www.global.morningstar.com/janflows16. 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. References to and commentary about the above-mentioned funds should not be considered a solicitation to buy or sell that fund.

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 more than 500,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 17 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 $170 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2015. The company has operations in 27 countries.

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