A Midwestern insurer's mutual fund arm took the lead last year among the smallest fund firms, according to the latest data from the folks at a publicly traded investment research firm.

This article draws from Morningstar Direct data on December 2024 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 518 firms (up by three month-over-month from November 2024 and up by 23 year-over-year from December 2023) with fewer than ten long-term mutual funds or ETFs each.

Column Funds (from Northwestern Mutual's Mason Street Advisors) took the lead last year, thanks to an esetimated $4.219 billion in net 2024 inflows, up by $4.194 billion Y/Y 2023. Other big 2024 inflows winners included: Alpha Architect, $3.918 billion (up by $2.789 billion Y/Y); Volatility Shares, $3.029 billion (up by $2.889 billion Y/Y); Bitwise, $2.603 billion (up by $2.595 billion Y/Y); and 21Shares, $2.535 billion (up by $2.517 billion).

Volatility Shares took the lead last quarter, thanks to an estimated $891 million in net inflows in the fourth quarter of 2024. Other big Q4 2024 inflows winners included: Neos, $672 million; and Alpha Architect, $586 million.

Volatility Shares also took the lead last month, thanks to an estimated $550 million in net December 2024 inflows. Other big inflows winners included: Neos, $398 million; and Hood River, $130 million.

There were three apparent mutual fund and ETF industry newcomers last month: Coastal Funds, NestYield, and Slow Capital.

On the flipside, Ark took the small firm outflows lead last year, thanks to an estimated $5.72 billion in net 2024 outflows, up by $4.896 billion Y/Y from 2023. Other big 2024 outflows sufferers included: Primecap, $5.001 billion (up by $2.167 billion Y/Y); Edgewood, $2.816 billion (up by $1.019 billion Y/Y); Akre, $2.686 billion (up by $415 million Y/Y); and Champlain, $1.734 billion (up by $815 million Y/Y).

Primecap also led the outflows pack last quarter for a second quarter running, thanks to an estimated $1.629 billion in net Q4 2024 outflows. Other big outflows sufferers included: Edgewood, $1.44 billion; and Independent Franchise Partners, $918 million.

And Primecap also took the outflows lead last month, thanks to an estimated $1.004 billion in net December 2024 outflows. Other big outflows sufferers included: Edgewood, $801 million; and Ark, $507 million.

As a group, small fund firms sufferered $2.653 billion in net December 2024 outflows, up by $1.872 billion M/M and up by $883 million Y/Y. As of December 31, 2024, small firms had a combined $310 billion in AUM (down by $25 billion M/M but up by $40 billion Y/Y) across 1,495 funds (down by 1 M/M, up by 16 Y/Y). Small firms ended the year accounting for 29.5 percent of the industry's total fund firms, 3.4 percent of funds, and 1 percent of AUM.

In Q4 2024, small firms suffered $3.37 billion in net outflows, a $5.266-billion net flows drop from Q3 2024. Yet for all of 2024, small firms brought in $10.481 billion in net inflows, up by $18.395 billion Y/Y and accounting for 1.4 percent of overall industry inflows in 2024.

Across the whole industry, the 806 firms (up by eight M/M and up by 24 Y/Y) tracked by the M* team brought in $96.918 billion in net December 2024 inflows. (That's down by $17.967 billion M/M but up by $14.112 billion Y/Y). As of December 31, 2024, the industry had $30.547 trillion in AUM (down by $879 billion M/M but up by $4.02 trillion Y/Y) across 43,342 long-term mutual funds and ETFs (up by 296 M/M and up by 919 Y/Y).

In Q4 2024, the industry brought in $293.69 billion in net inflows, up by $130.032 billion Q/Q). For all of 2024, the industry brought in $723.43 billion in net inflows (up by $640.924 billion Y/Y). 

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