An ETF shop led the midsize fund firm pack for a third month in a row in March, even as the pack's net flows plummeted.

Michael Lynn Sapir ProShare Advisors, ProFund Advisors CEO

This article draws from Morningstar Direct data on March 2022 open-end mutual 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 74 firms (down from 77 in March 2021) with between $10 billion and $100 billion each in long-term fund AUM.

Midsize firms had $2.656 trillion in combined long-term fund AUM as of March 31, 2022, and they accounted for 10.03 percent of overall industry long-term fund AUM. That compares with $2.55 trillion and 9.73 percent on February 28, 2022 with $2.868 trillion and 11.53 percent on March 31, 2021.

23 midsize firms brought in net long-term inflows in March 2022, down from 35 in February 2022 and down from 43 in March 2021.

ProShares and ProFunds led the midsize pack in the first quarter of 2022, thanks to an estimated $7.674 billion in net Q1 2022 inflows. Other big Q1 2022 inflows winners included: Rafferty's Direxion, $3.835 billion; VanEck, $3.197 billion; Pacer, $2.992 billion; and Mirae (including Global X), $2.245 billion.

Pacer led the way proportionately last quarter, thanks to estimated net Q1 2022 inflows equivalent to 24 percent of its AUM. Other big inflows winners included: Direxion, 13.6 percent; ProShares, 10.6 percent; GQG, 9.3 percent; and Pacific, 7.2 percent.

ProShares kept the lead last month, thanks to an estimated $2.59 billion in March 2022 inflows, up month-over-month from $2.286 billion in February 2022 and up year-over-year from $804 million in March 2021. Other big March 2022 inflows winners included: Pacer, $1.331 billion (up M/M from $1.015 billion, up Y/Y from $119 million); and Mirae, $1.083 billion (up M/M from $503 million, down Y/Y from $1.755 billion).

On the flip side, last quarter was a rough one for DoubleLine, which led the midsize pack with an estimated $6.6 billion in net Q1 2022 outflows. Other big outflows sufferers included: Virtus (including Stone Harbor), $3.128 billion; Federated Hermes, $2.989 billion; Guggenheim (including Rydex), $2.738 billion; and Alger, $2.186 billion.

Alger led the midsize outflows pack proportionately last quarter, suffering estimated net Q1 2022 outflows equivalent to 9.2 percent of its AUM. Other big outflows sufferers included: MassMutual, 6.2 percent; Guggenheim, 5.7 percent; DoubleLine, 5.5 percenth; and Virtus, 4.6 percent.

Guggenheim took the outflows lead last month, suffering an estimated $1.391 billion in March 2022, up M/M from $1.087 billion in February 2022 but down Y/Y from $355 million in March 2021 inflows. Other big March 2022 outflows sufferers included: DoubleLine, $1.257 billion (down M/M from $1.694 billion, up Y/Y from $28 million); and Baird (including Strategas), $1.135 billion (up M/M from $313 million, down Y/Y from $2.325 billion in net inflows).

As a group, midsize fund firms suffered an estimated $6.6 billion in net Q1 2022 outflows, equivalent to 0.25 percent of their combined AUM.

In March 2022 alone, midsize fund firms suffered an estimated $11.726 billion in net outflows, equivalent to 0.44 percent of their combined AUM. That's down from $826 million in net inflows and 0.03 percent of AUM in February 2022, and down from $13.592 billion in net inflows and 0.47 percent of AUM in March 2021.

Across the entire industry, the 791 firms tracked by the M* team (down M/M from 795 but up Y/Y from 758) brought in an estimated $114.402 billion in net Q1 2022 inflows. That's equivalent to 0.43 percent of their $26.461 trillion in combined AUM (up M/M from $26.219 trillion, up Y/Y from $24.865 trillion).

Long-term funds brought in an estimated $30.653 billion in net inflows in March 2022, equivalent to 0.12 percent of their combined AUM. That's down M/M from $47.85 billion and 0.18 percent of AUM, and down Y/Y from $156.503 billion and 0.63 percent of AUM.

Passive funds brought in an estimated $101.064 billion in net long-term fund inflows in March 2022, up M/M from $80.09 billion but down Y/Y from $114.117 billion. Active funds suffered $70.411 billion in net outflows in March 2022, up M/M from $32.24 billion but down Y/Y from $42.386 billion in net inflows. 

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