A publicly traded brokerage's asset management arm kept the lead last month among large fund firms, even as the group's overall inflows slowed.

Omar Aguilar Schwab Asset Management CEO, Chief Investment Officer

This article draws from Morningstar Direct data on February 2023 mutual fund and ETF flows, excluding money market funds and funds of funds. (Other asset management products, like CITs and SMAs, are also not included.) More specifically, this article focuses on the 22 firms (down month-over-month from 23 in January 2023 and down year-over-year from 26 in February 2022) with between $100 billion and $500 billion each in long-term fund AUM.

Large fund firms had a combined $4.511 trillion in total long-term fund AUM across 14,236 funds as of February 28, 2023, and they accounted for 19.2 percent of overall industry long-term fund AUM. That compares with $4.72 trillion, 14,907 funds, and 19.53 percent of industry AUM on January 31, 2023, and with $5.174 trillion and 19.73 percent on February 28, 2022.

13 large fund firms brought in net inflows last month, up M/M from 11 and up Y/Y from eight.

Schwab led the inflows pack last month for a fourth month in a row, thanks to an estimated $1.932 billion in net February 2023 inflows, down M/M from $5.204 billion in January 2023 and down Y/Y from $4.508 billion in February 2022. Other big February 2023 inflows winners included: DFA, $1.199 billion (down M/M from $2.102 billion, up Y/Y from $189 million in net outflows); Dodge & Cox, $1.039 billion (down M/M from $1.12 billion, up Y/Y from $590 million); Goldman Sachs, $1.008 billion (up M/M from $472 million, up Y/Y from $475 million in net outflows); and American Century (including Avantis), $660 million (down M/M from $722 million, up Y/Y from $1.065 billion in net outflows).

In the first two months of 2023, Schwab led the pack by bringing in a total of $7.136 billion in net inflows. Other big 2023 year-to-date inflows winners as of February 28 included: DFA, $3.301 billion; and Pimco, $2.567 billion.

On the flip side, Franklin Tmepleton took the outflows lead last month, thanks to an estimated $1.202 billion in net February 2023 outflows, up M/M from $755 million in January 2023 but down Y/Y from $2.662 billion in February 2022. Other big February 2023 outflows sufferers include: Lord Abbett, $852 million (up M/M from $237 million, down Y/Y from $1.724 billion); Hartford, $843 million (up M/M from $131 million, down Y/Y from $27 million in net inflows); Jackson, $631 million (down M/M from $835 million, down Y/Y from $848 million); and Principal, $437 million (up M/M from $432 million, down Y/Y from $491 million in net inflows).

After the first two months of 2023, Franklin Templeton led the YTD outflows pack, thanks to an estimated $1.954 billion in net outflows. Other big YTD outflows sufferers include: Jackson, $1.468 billion; Ameriprise's Columbia Threadneedle, $1.167 billion.

As a group, large fund firms brought in $3.635 billion in net February 2023 inflows, equivalent to 0.08 percent of their combined AUM. That compares with $10.012 billion and 0.21 percent in January 2023, and with $6.634 billion in net outflows and 0.13 percent in February 2022.

So far in 2023, as of February 28, large fund firms have brought in $13.59 billion in net inflows. That's equivalent to 0.3 percent of their combined AUM and accounts for 32.89 percent of overall industry long-term inflows.

Across the entire industry, the 782 firms tracked by the M* team (down M/M from 783 and down Y/Y from 795) suffered an estimated $3.245 billion in net February 2023 outflows, equivalent to 0.01 percent of their combined long-term fund AUM of $23.493 trillion. That compares with $42.682 billion in net inflows and 0.18 percent of industry AUM in January 2023, and with $47.85 billion in net inflows and 0.18 percent of AUM in February 2022.

Passive funds brought in $4.034 billion in net long-term fund inflows in February 2023, down M/M from $47.436 billion in January 2023 and down Y/Y from $80.08 billion in February 2022 outflows.

The entire long-term fund industry brought in $41.317 billion in net inflows in the first two months of 2023. That's equivalent to 0.18 percent of the industry's combined long-term fund AUM. 

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