October was a big month for Vanguard, in both good and bad ways.

Mortimer J. Buckley Vanguard President and CEO

This article draws from Morningstar Direct data on open-end mutual fund and ETF flows (excluding money market funds and funds of funds) from October 2018.

Fidelity again led the active side of the industry, with estimated active inflows of $2.456 billion in October, up from $1.783 billion in September. Other big active inflow winners in October included: Lord Abbett, $977 million (down from $1.153 billion); Edward Jones' Bridge Builder, $900 million (up from $374 million); DFA, $826 million (down from $962 million); and Hartford, $693 million (up from $128 million in net outflows).

On the passive side, low-cost leviathan Vanguard led the pack with estimated passive net inflows of $13.269 billion in October, down from $16.34 billion in September. Other big passive inflow winners in October included: Fidelity, $4.473 billion (down from $4.777 billion); Schwab, $2.596 billion (up from $1.319 billion); J.P. Morgan, $1.325 billion (up from $782 million); and Rafferty's Direxion, $1.116 billion (up from $88 million in net outflows).

On the flip side, October was a rough month for Vanguard's active funds, which suffered an estimated $4.271 billion in net outflows, more than any other active fund firm and down from $136 million in net inflows in September. Other big October sufferers on the active side included: Franklin Templeton, $2.627 billion (down from $2.711 billion); Pimco, $2.391 billion (up from $556 million); Harbor, $2.125 billion (down from $3.519 billion); and T. Rowe Price, $1.901 billion (up from $1.53 billion).

Among passive players, SSgA suffered an estimated $7.018 billion in net passive outflows in October, more than any other firm and down from $10.208 billion in net inflows in September. Other big passive sufferers in October included: Invesco, $2.789 billion (up from $653 million); First Trust, $1.984 billion (down from $1.215 billion in net inflows); Milleis Investissements Funds, $498 million (down from $121 million in net inflows); and Robo Global, $253 million (up from $29 million).

Industrywide, active funds suffered $45.764 billion in net outflows in October, up from $13.698 billion in September. Passive funds brought in $16.862 billion in combined net inflows in October, down from $41.967 billion in September. 

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