A publicly traded ETF shop led the way last month as small fund firms' inflows returned. Yet the group's AUM is roughly the same as 12 months ago.

Frank Edward Holmes U.S. Global Investors, Inc. CEO, Chief Investment Officer

This article draws from Morningstar Direct data on January 2022 open-end mutual fund 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 170 firms (down month-over-month from 172 in December 2021 but up year-over-year from 166 in January 2021) with between $1 billion and $10 billion each in long-term fund AUM.

Small firms had $539 billion in total long-term fund AUM as of January 31, 2022, accounting for 2.02 percent of overall industry long-term fund AUM. That compares with $550 billion and 1.96 percent on December 31, 2021, and with $539 billion and 2.27 percent on January 31, 2021.

103 of those small fund firms brought in net inflows last month, up from 84 in December 2021 and up from 95 in January 2021.

U.S. Global Investors took the lead last month, thanks to an estimated $332 million in January 2022 inflows, up M/M from $123 million in December 2021 and up Y/Y from $56 million in January 2021. Other big January 2022 inflows winners included: Smead, $320 million (up M/M from $128 million, up Y/Y from $7 million); Innovator, $315 million (up M/M from $161 million, up Y/Y from $194 million); Credit Suisse, $288 million (up M/M from $151 million in net outflows, up Y/Y from $119 million); and Angel Oak, $242 million (up M/M from $45 million in net outflows, up Y/Y from $97 million).

Cambria led proportionately last month, thanks to estimated net January 2022 inflows equivalent to 13.9 percent of its AUM. Other big inflows winners included: Rational's Strategy Shares, 11.3 percent; Microsectors, 11.1 percent; Smead, 8.9 percent; and USGI, 8.1 percent.

On the flip side, USCF kept the outflows lead last month, thanks to an estimated $378 million in net January 2022 outflows, down M/M from $405 million in December 2021 and down Y/Y from $685 million in January 2021. Other big January 2022 outflows sufferers included: Callahan Financial Services' Trust for Credit Unions, $234 million (up M/M from $89 million, down Y/Y from $251 million in net inflows); Milleis Investissements Funds, $206 million (up M/M from 16 million, down Y/Y from $76 million in net inflows); Independent Franchise Partners, $186 million (down M/M from $3 million in net inflows, up Y/Y from $7 million); and Franklin's Royce, $170 million (down M/M from $309 million, down Y/Y from $32 million in net inflows).

Independent Franchise Partners also led the outflows pack proportionately last month, suffering estimated net January 2022 outflows equivalent to 9.9 percent of its AUM. Other big outflows sufferers included: USCF, 9.4 percent; Milleis, 6.1 percent; TCU, 6 percent; and CRM, 5.1 percent.

As a group, small fund firms brought in an estimated $2.877 billion in net January 2022 inflows, equivalent to 0.53 percent of their combined AUM and accounting for 32.2 percent of overall industry long-term inflows. That compares with: $379 million in net outflows and 0.07 percent of AUM in December 2021; and with $3.217 billion in net inflows, equivalent to 0.6 percent of AUM and 3.37 percent of industry inflows, in January 2021.

Across the entire industry, the 797 firms tracked by the M* team (down M/M from 799 but up Y/Y from 753) brought in an estimated $8.936 billion in net January 2022 inflows, equivalent to 0.03 percent of overall long-term fund AUM of $26.709 trillion on January 31, 2022. That's down M/M from $87.633 billions in December 2021 inflows, equivalent to 0.31 percent of $28.084 trillion in AUM and down Y/Y from $95.454 billion in January 2021 inflows, equivalent to 0.4 percent of $23.732 trillion in AUM.

Passive funds brought in $22.087 billion in net long-term fund inflows in January 2022, down M/M from $95.932 billion and down Y/Y from $54.591 billion. Active funds suffered $13.138 billion in net long-term fund outflows in January 2022, up M/M from $8.299 billion but down Y/Y from $40.836 billion in net inflows. 

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