Active inflows fell by half last month, and passive inflows fell by 38 percent.

Emmanuel "Manny" Roman Pimco CEO, Managing Director

This article draws from Morningstar Direct data on September 2021 open-end mutual fund and ETF flows, excluding money-market funds and funds of funds. The data also excludes other asset management products, like SMAs and CITs.***

Pimco kept the lead last month on the active side, thanks to an estimated $5.951 billion in net September 2021 inflows, up month-over-month from $4.369 billion in August 2021 and up year-over-year from $146 million in September 2020 outflows. Other big September 2021 active inflows winners included: J.P. Morgan (including Six Circles), $2.844 billion (down M/M from $3.63 billion, down Y/Y from $4.618 billion); Vanguard, $1.711 billion (down M/M from $3.355 billion, down Y/Y from $2.482 billion); Lord Abbett, $1.538 billion (down M/M from $1.775 billion, up Y/Y from $872 million); and BlackRock (including iShares), $1.516 billion (down M/M from $2.785 billion, up Y/Y from $978 million).

Vanguard kept the lead yet again on the passive side, thanks to an estimated $18.112 billion in net September 2021 passive inflows, down M/M from $20.666 billion in August 2021 but up Y/Y from $9.204 billion in September 2020. Other big September 2021 passive inflows winners included: Fidelity, $10.232 billion (down M/M from $10.325 billion, up Y/Y from $7.124 billion); BlackRock, $9.17 billion (down M/M from $19.749 billion, up Y/Y from $3.496 billion); Charles Schwab, $5.113 billion (down M/M from $3.05 billion, up Y/Y from $1.518 billion); and ProShares and ProFunds, $3.229 billion (up M/M from $495 million, up Y/Y from $842 million).

On the flip side, last month was a rough one for T. Rowe Price's active mutual funds, which led the active outflows pack thanks to an estimated $2.649 billion in net September 2021 outflows, up M/M from $1.18 billion in August 2021 and up Y/Y from $1.285 billion in September 2020. Other big September 2021 active outflows sufferers included: TCW (including MetWest), $2.555 billion (down M/M from $398 million in net inflows, down Y/Y from $1.545 billion); Ark, $1.816 billion (up M/M from $1.193 billion, down Y/Y from $1.043 billion in net inflows); Invesco, $1.706 billion (down M/M from $14 million in net inflows, down Y/Y from $2.02 billion); and Harbor, $1.247 billion (up M/M from $655 million, up Y/Y from $475 million).

SSGA led the outflows pack on the passive side last month, thanks to an estimated $2.662 billion in net September 2021 outflows, down M/M from $12.475 billion in August 2021 inflows but up Y/Y from $1.382 billion in September 2020. Other big September 2021 passive outflows sufferers included: T. Rowe, $762 million (up M/M from $234 million, up Y/Y from $200 million); Invesco, 4668 million (down M/M from $6.773 billion in net inflows, down Y/Y from $2.656 billion in net inflows); Jackson National, $459 million (up M/M from $342 million, up Y/Y from $344 million); and Voya, $302 million (up M/M from $162 million, up Y/y from $145 million).

Industrywide, the 718 active fund firms tracked by the M* team (up M/M from 714, up Y/Y from 695) brought in an estimated $9.916 billion in net active inflows in September 2021, accounting for 17 percent of overall industry long-term inflows. That compares with $19.829 billion and 20 percent in August 2021 and with $12.348 billion in net outflows in September 2020. 375 firms gained net active inflows in September 2021, down M/M from 382 but up Y/Y from 275.

The 157 passive fund firms tracked by the M* team (up M/M from 152, up Y/Y from 141) brought in an estimated $47.828 billion in net passive inflows in September 2021, accounting for 83 percent of overall industry long-term inflows. That compares with $77.739 billion and 80 percent in August 2021 and with $23.877 billion in September 2021. 86 firms gained net passive inflows in September 2021, up M/M from 79 in August 2021 and up Y/Y from 76 in September 2020.

*** This caveat is particularly important for jumbo fund firms, many of which are big players in the 401(k) business, where collective investment trusts (CITs) are a commonly used alternative to traditional mutual funds. For example, as the T. Rowe team revealed revealed earlier this month, in September 2021 their clients transferred about $1.2 billion out of T. Rowe mutual funds and into other T. Rowe products like CITs and SMAs. (T. Rowe clients made $18.4 billion of such transfers in the first nine months of 2021). And T. Rowe is a big retirement plan provider and DC I-O asset manager, especially in the target-date fund (TDF) space. 

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