Pound for pound, Richard Bernstein Advisors is winning the ETF strategist race, though a familiar titan leads on absolute basis.

Today Morningstar released its Morningstar ETF Managed Portfolios Landscape Report for Q1 2018. Ben Johnson, director of global ETF research, again penned the report.

Vanguard's ETF strategist arm, Vanguard Advisers Inc., again led the pack, with Q1 2018 AUM growth of $1.8448 billion, M* estimates, up from $1.7188 billion in Q4 2017. Other big AUM gainers in Q1 included: Richard Bernstein Advisors, $878.1 million (up from $707.2 million); BlackRock, $742.5 million (up from $710.9 million); SEI Investments Management Corp, $544.1 million (down from $557.1 million); and Morningstar itself, $352.2 million (up from $191.9 million).

Proportionately, of the 25-biggest ETF strategists tracked by M*, Richard Bernstein Advisors led the pack in Q1, seeing its AUM rise an estimated 19.2 percent (up from 19.1 percent in Q4). Other big AUM gainers in Q1 included: GLOBALT Investments, 18.4 percent; Vanguard, 14.5 percent (down from 15.9 percent); UBS Asset Management, 12.2 percent (down from 57.9 percent); and WestEnd Advisors, 11.7 percent (down from 14 percent).

Per strategy, Richard Bernstein Advisors also led the pack, seeing its AUM rise an estimated $146.4 million per strategy in Q1, up from $117.9 million per strategy in Q4. Other big Q1 gainers included: WestEnd, $81.7 million per strategy (down from $86.7 million); Churchill Management Group, $55.3 million per strategy (down from $89 million); GLOBALT, $44.1 million per strategy; and Vanguard, $41.9 million per strategy (up from $39.1 million).

On the flip side, Q1 was rough for S&P Investment Advisory Services (SPIAS), which suffered an estimated AUM drop of $2.3264 billion. Other big AUM drop sufferers in Q1 included Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc., $455.5 million (down from a $182 million increase in Q4); Karpus Investment Management, $292.4 million (down from a $28.3 million increase); and Stadion Money Management, $224.6 million (down from a $77.3 million increase).

ETF titans continue to dominate the ETF strategist space by AUM, the very same titans whose ETFs are the building blocks that strategists use to build their ETF managed portfolios. Vanguard is the biggest ETF strategist in the business, now with an estimated $12.686 billion in AUM. The next four biggest are: Charles Schwab, $11.9699 billion; BlackRock, $8.6707 billion; State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), $6.785 billion; and RiverFront Investment Group, $6.7752. 

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