The asset management arm of a Midwestern multi-business investment firm (which is also an investment banking and wealth management firm) led the way last month among midsize fund firms, even as the group's overall flows improved by more than $11 billion from a year earlier.

Mary Ellen Bolger Stanek Robert W. Baird & Co. Managing Director, Director of Asset Management

This article draws from Morningstar Direct on April 2023 open-end 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 71 firms (down year-over-year from 75 in April 2022) with between $10 billion and $100 billion each in long-term fund AUM.

Midsize firms had $2.388 trillion in combined long-term fund AUM across 12,614 funds as of April 30, 2023, and they accounted for 9.9 percent of industry AUM. That compares with $2.422 trillion, 12,660 funds, and 10.11 percent of industry AUM on March 31, 2023, and with $2.624 trillion and 10.67 percent on April 30, 2022.

20 midside firms brought in net April 2023 inflows, up month-over-month from 18 in March 2023 but down Y/Y from 21 in April 2022.

Baird (including Strategas) took the lead last month, thanks to an estimated $1.081 billion in net April 2023 inflows, up M/M from $589 million in March 2023 and up Y/Y from $961 million in April 2022 outflows. Other big April 2023 inflows winners included: ProShares and ProFunds, $775 million (up M/M from $249 million in net outflows, up Y/Y from $174 million in net inflows); Innovator, $499 million (up M/M from $206 million, up Y/Y from $313 million); Rafferty's Direxion, $493 million (down M/M from $1.363 billion, down Y/Y from $2.293 billion); and Pacer, $463 million (down M/M from $805 million, down Y/Y from $704 million).

Innovator led the pack proportionately last month, thanks to estimated net April 2023 inflows equivalent to 3.8 percent of its AUM. Other big inflows winners included: Mercer, 3.7 percent; and Baillie Gifford, 2.5 percent.

Pacer still leads the 2023 inflows pack so far, thanks to an estimated $3.883 billion in net year-to-date inflows as of April 30. Other big YTD inflows winners include: Baird, $3.599 billion; and WisdomTree, $3.307 billion.

On the flip side, Macquarie's Delaware took the outflows lead last month, thanks to an estimated $976 million in net April 2023 outflows, up M/M from $971 million in March 2023 but down Y/Y from $1.085 billion in April 2022. Other big April 2023 outflows sufferers included: Aristotle (including Pacific), $787 million (up M/M from $236 million, down Y/Y from $19 million in net inflows); VanEck, $714 million (down M/M from $735 million in net inflows, down Y/Y from $1.745 billion in net inflows); Transamerica, $671 million (up M/M from $140 million, up Y/Y from $499 million); and Virtus (including AlphaSimplex), $667 million (down M/M from $769 million, down Y/Y from $1.089 billion).

Aristotle led the outflows pack proportionately last month, thanks to net April 2023 outflows equivalent to 7.6 percent of its AUM. Other big outflows sufferers included: Ark, 3.9 percent; and Alger, 2.6 percent.

Delaware still leads the 2023 outflows pack so far, thanks to an estimated $3.505 billion in net YTD outflows as of April 30. Other big outflows sufferers include: Virtus, $2.437 billion; and SEI, $2.062 billion.

As a group, midsize fund firms suffered $5.552 billion in net April 2023 outflows, equivalent to 0.23 percent of their combined AUM. That compares with $10.37 billion and 0.43 percent in March 2023, and with $17.012 billion and 0.67 percent in April 2022.

As of April 30, midsize firms have suffered an estimated $8.382 billion in net 2023 outflows. That translates into 0.35 percent of their combined AUM.

Across the industry, the 776 firms tracked by the M* team (down M/M from 785, down Y/Y from 796), brought in $6.565 billion in net inflows in April 2023, equivalent to 0.03 percent of their combined $24.131 trillion in AUM across 42,060 funds. That compares with $25.527 billion in net outflows, 0.11 percent of AUM, $23.968 trillion in AUM, and 42,221 funds in March 2023, and with $89.224 billion in net outflows, 0.36 percent of AUM, and $24.585 trillion in AUM in April 2022.

Active funds suffered an estimated $30.68 billion in net outflows in April 2023, down M/M from $58.306 billion and down Y/Y from $86.386 billion. On the flip side, passive funds brought in $37.244 billion in net April 2023 inflows, up M/M from $32.778 billion and up Y/Y from $2.838 billion in net outflows.

So far in 2023, the industry has brought in $22.844 billion in net inflows as of April 30. That's equivalent to 0.09 percent of overall industry AUM. 

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