A midwestern ETF shop regained the lead last month among mid-size fund firms.

James A. Bowen First Trust Advisors L.P. CEO

This article draws from Morningstar Direct data on September 2019 open-end mutual fund and ETF flows, excluding money-market funds and funds of funds. More specifically, this article focuses on the 75 firms with between $10 billion and $100 billion each in fund AUM. 30 of those firms gained net inflows in September, up from 27 in August.

First Trust took the lead last month among mid-size fund firms, with estimated net September inflows of $1.592 billion, up from $290 million in August. Other big September winners included: Baird, $1.048 billion (up from $498 million); VanEck, $698 million (up from $591 million in net outflows); DoubleLine, $690 million (up from $253 million); and DWS, $604 million (up from $1.116 billion in net outflows).

First Trust also took the mid-size pack lead proportionately, with estimated net September inflows equivalent to 2.12 percent of its AUM, up from 0.4 percent in August. Other big September winners included: VanEck, 1.67 percent (up from 1.38 percent in net outflows); Baird, 1.67 percent (up from 0.8 percent); ProShares and ProFunds, 1.52 percent (up from 0.08 percent); and Cohen & Steers, 1.31 percent (up from 0.64 percent).

Year-to-date as of September 30, Baird leads the mid-size pack with $11.292 billion in net inflows. Other big winners in the first three quarters of 2019 included: First Trust, $8.992 billion; DoubleLine, $8.976 billion; Morgan Stanley, $8.437 billion; and AllianceBernstein, $4.216 billion.

On the flip side, September was another rough month for Harris' Oakmark, which suffered an estimated $1.254 billion in net outflows, again more than any other mid-size fund firm but down from $1.478 billion in August. Other big September sufferers included: UBS, $834 million (down from $333 million in net inflows); Wells Fargo, $665 million (down from $11 million in net inflows); Virtus, $649 million (up from $24 million); and Waddell & Reed's Ivy, $632 million (down from $911 million).

Proportionately, UBS led the mid-size outflows pack last month, suffering estimated net September outflows equivalent to 4.91 percent of its AUM, down from 1.9 percent in net August inflows. Other big September sufferers included: Credit Suisse, 3.42 percent (up from 2.39 percent); AIG, 2.31 percent (down from 2.96 percent); AMG, 2.2 percent (up from 1.22 percent); and Glenmede, 1.96 percent (down from 2.4 percent).

Oakmark also leads the mid-size outflows pack YTD, with estimated net outflows of $9.632 billion for the first nine months of 2019. Other big YTD sufferers included: Ivy, $5.847 billion; Harbor, $5.087 billion; AQR, $4.444 billion; and AMG, $4.392 billion.

As a group, the 75 mid-size fund firms suffered an estimated $3.299 billion in combined net September outflows, equivalent to about 0.13 percent of their combined AUM. That's down from $11.522 billion in net August outflows.

Across the whole industry (M* tracks flows from 767 firms), long-term mutual funds and ETFs brought in $39.916 billion in net inflows in September, equivalent to 0.21 percent of industry AUM. That's up from $15.927 billion in net August outflows. Passive funds brought in $52.576 billion in net September inflows, while active funds suffered $12.66 billion in net outflows.

YTD, mid-size fund firms have suffered an estimated $32.892 billion in net outflows as of the end of September, equivalent to about 1.25 percent of their combined AUM. The overall industry has brought in $264.483 billion in net inflows YTD, equivalent to 1.36 percent of industry AUM. 

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