Mid-size fund firms' outflows surpassed $10 billion last month.

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

This article draws from Morningstar Direct data on April 2019 open-end mutual fund and ETF flows (excluding money-market funds and funds of funds). This article focuses specifically on the 78 firms (one fewer than in March) with between $10 billion and $100 billion each in AUM (in mutual funds and ETFs). Only 18 of those firms gained net inflows in April.

For a second month in a row, Baird led the mid-size fund firm pack, with estimated net April inflows of $1.898 billion, down from $3.039 billion in March. Other big April winners included: First Trust, $1.361 billion (down from $1.452 billion); Edward Jones' Bridge Builder, $1.063 billion (up from $441 million); DoubleLine, $857 million (down from $1.368 billion); and New York Life's MainStay, $676 million (up from $46 million).

Baird also led the mid-size pack proportionately, with estimated net April inflows equivalent to 3.44 percent of its AUM, down from 5.73 percent in March. Other big April winners included: Mirae (including Global X), 3.02 percent (up from 1.85 percent); Akre, 1.95 percent (up from 1.42 percent); First Trust, 1.89 percent (down from 2.12 percent); and Bridge Builder, 1.48 percent (up from 0.64 percent).

On the flip side, April was a rough month for Harris' Oakmark, which suffered an estimated $2.453 billion in net outflows, more than any other mid-size fund firm and up from $674 million in March. Other big April sufferers included: Causeway, $1.148 billion (down from $8 million in net inflows); AQR, $1.138 billion (up from $443 million); AMG, $932 million (down from $1.037 billion); and Harbor, $755 million (up from $586 million).

Proportionately, Causeway led the mid-size outflows pack last month, suffering estimated net April outflows equivalent to 10.02 percent of its AUM, down from 0.07 percent in net March inflows. Other big April sufferers included: AQR, 4.56 percent (up from 1.72 percent); Oakmark, 3.17 percent (up from 0.9 percent); AMG, 3.14 percent (down from 3.49 percent); and William Blair, 1.98 percent (down from 2.78 percent).

As a group, the 78 mid-size fund firms suffered an estimated $10.608 billion in combined net outflows, equivalent to 0.37 percent of their combined AUM. That's up from $20 million in mid-size outflows in March.

Across the whole industry (M* tracks flows from 775 firms), long-term mutual funds and ETFs brought in a combined $51.004 billion in estimated net inflows in April, equivalent to 0.27 percent of industry AUM. Passive funds brought in $65.543 billion, while active funds suffered $14.539 billion in net outflows. 

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