A TAMP's mutual funds took the lead last month among small fund firms, even as overall industry inflows fell.

Brendan Clark Clark Capital Management Group CEO

This article draws from Morningstar Direct data on March 2019 ETF and open-end mutual fund flows (excluding money-market funds and funds of funds). This article focuses specifically on the 153 firms with between $1 billion and $10 billion in AUM each (in mutual funds and ETFs). 72 of those firms gained net inflows in March, down from 83 in February and 91 in January.

Clark's Navigator led the small fund firm pack last month, bringing in an estimated $238 million in net March inflows, up from $92 million in February. Other big March inflows winners included: KraneShares, $237 million (up from $22 million); Jensen, $233 million (up from $22 million); Brown Advisory, $229 million (up from $164 million); and Angel Oak, $157 million (down from $173 million).

Proportionately, ETF Managers Trust won the small fund firm race, with estimated net March inflows equivalent to 11.28 percent of its AUM, up from 11.19 percent in February. Other big March inflows winners included: KraneShares, 8.46 percent (up from 0.85 percent); Barings, 7.1 percent (up from 0.98 percent); Navigator, 5.55 percent (up from 2.29 percent); and PT Asset Management, 5.38 percent (up from 4.02 percent).

On the flip side, March was a rough month for Stone Harbor, which suffered an estimated $269 million in net outflows, more than any other small fund firm and up from $39 million in February. Other big March outflows sufferers included: Boston Partners, $226 million (down from $352 million); USCF, $224 million (up from $92 million); IVA, $167 million (up from $19 million); and Westwood, $166 million (up from $138 million.

Stone Harbor also the small firm outflows pack proportionately last month, with estimated net March outflows equivalent to 12.5 percent of its AUM, up from 1.62 percent in February. Other big March outflows sufferers included: Advisory Research, 11.66 percent (down from 1.35 percent in net inflows); USCF, 8.95 percent (up from 3.45 percent); Highland, 7.38 percent (down from 4.09 percent in net inflows); and Westwood, 5.26 percent (up from 4.16 percent).

As a group, the 153 small fund firms brought in an estimated $577 million in net inflows in March, equivalent to 0.11 percent of their combined AUM and accounting for 1.31 percent of industry flows. That's down from $1.709 billion in net small fund firm inflows in February (which accounted for 3.18 percent of net industrywide flows).

Across the whole industry (M* tracks flows from 779 firms), long-term mutual funds and ETFs brought in a combined $44.191 billion in estimated net inflows in March, equivalent to 0.24 percent of industry AUM. Passive funds brought in $49.46 billion in net inflows, while active funds suffered $5.269 billion in net outflows. 

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