A liquid alternatives shop raced to the head of the small fund firm pack in April.

The fund flows information within this article draws from Morningstar Direct data on mutual fund and ETF flows in April 2018, specifically for small fund firms (those with between $1 billion and $10 billion in fund and ETF AUM).

AlphaCentric brought in an estimated $170 million in net inflows in April, more than any other fund firm with $1 billion and $10 billion in AUM and nearly six times the $31 million inflows it netted March. Other April winners included: Pacer, $109 million (up from $105 million in March); Chiron, $103 million (down from $117 million); Pear Tree, $94 million (up from $54 million); and Pure Funds, $90 million (up from $13 million).

Proportionately, AlphaCentric was also the small fund firm winner in April, with estimated net inflows equivalent to 8.97 percent of its AUM, up from 1.79 percent in March. Other big inflows winners proportionately in April included: Semper, 5.39 percent (down fro 7.15 percent in March); Pacer, 5.27 percent (down from 5.35 percent); Mercer, 5.2 percent (up from 1.92 percent in net outflows); and Chiron, 4.94 percent (down from 5.82 percent).

On the flip side, April was a rough month for Hennessy, which suffered estimated net outflows of $131 million, more than any other fund firm in the $1 billion to $10 billion AUM range and up from $47 million in March. Other big sufferers in April included: Longleaf, $101 million (up from $49 million in March); Driehaus, $96 million (up from $28 million); Catalyst, $90 million (up from $63 million); and James Advantage, $84 million (up from $64 million).

Proportionately, Sands Capital suffered the most in April among small fund firms, with estimated net outflows equivalent to 3.48 percent of its AUM, up from 0.56 percent in March. Other big sufferers in April included: James Advantage, 3.18 percent (up from 2.33 percent in March); LoCorr, 2.91 percent (up from 0.73 percent); Spirit of America, 2.26 percent (up from 2.18 percent); and RiverNorth, 2.23 percent (up from 1.11 percent).

Fund families with between $1 billion and $10 billion each in AUM as a group brought in $586 million in net inflows in April, equivalent to 0.12 percent of their combined AUM. That's up from $393 million in March.

M* recently released a report about industrywide flows, and MFWire highlighted the biggest winners and losers among the largest fund firms. Across the whole industry, long-term funds brought in $30.591 billion in net inflows in April, while money funds suffered $9.029 billion in net outflows. Within long-term funds, taxable bond funds, international equity funds, U.S. equity funds, and commodities funds all had net inflows, while sector equity funds, allocation funds, muni bonds, and liquid alters all suffered net outflows. 

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