The Boston Behemoth took the inflows lead last month among the largest fund firms as industry outflows returned thanks largely to an 83-percent drop in passive inflows.

Abigail "Abby" Pierrepont Johnson FMR (dba Fidelity Investments) Chair, President, CEO

This article draws from Morningstar Direct data for August 2023 mutual fund and ETF flows, excluding money-market funds and funds of funds. (Other asset management products, like collective trusts and SMAs, are also not included.***) More specifically, this article focuses on the eight firms with more than $500 billion each in total long-term fund and ETF AUM.

Jumbo fund firms held $17.268 trillion in total long-term fund AUM across 7,846 funds as of August 31, 2023, and they accounted for 68.49 percent of overall industry long-term fund AUM. That compares with $17.635 trillion, 7,838 funds, and 68.56 percent of industry AUM on July 31, 2023, and with $15.71 trillion and 67.04 percent of industry AUM on August 31, 2022.

Three of those jumbo fund firms brought in net inflows in August 2023. That's down month-over-month from six in July 2023 and down year-over-year from four in August 2022.

Fidelity took the lead last month, bringing in an estimated $8.097 billion in net August 2023 inflows, down M/M from $9.543 billion in July 2023 but up Y/Y from $1.793 billion in August 2022 outflows. The other August 2023 inflows winners were: Vanguard, $4.756 billion (down M/M from $11.892 billion, down Y/Y from $17.495 billion); and J.P. Morgan (including Six Circles), $2.355 billion (up M/M from $648 million, up Y/Y from $736 million).

Yet Vanguard still leads the 2023 inflows pack so far, thanks to an estimated $59.711 billion in net year-to-date inflows as of August 31. Other big YTD inflows winners included: J.P. Morgan, $43.339 billion; and Fidelity, $28.145 billion.

On the flip side, SSGA took the outflows pack lead last month, thanks to an estimated $12.184 billion in net August 2023 outflows, down M/M from $2.254 billion in July 2023 inflows and down Y/Y from $3.134 billion in August 2022 inflows. Other big August 2023 outflows sufferers included: Capital Group (home of American Funds), $6.672 billion (up M/M from $2.892 billion, up Y/Y from $1.616 billion); and BlackRock (including iShares), $6.659 billion (down M/M from $17.083 billion in net inflows, down Y/Y from $3.667 billion in net inflows).

There are only two overall outflows sufferers in 2023 among the jumbo fund firms, as of August 31. They are: T. Rowe Price, $36.369 billion; and Capital Group, $30.171 billion.

As a group, the eight largest fund firms suffered $14.794 billion in net August 2023 outflows, equivalent to 0.09 percent of their combined AUM and accounting for 60.46 percent of overall industry long-term outflows. That compares with $37.7 billion in net inflows, 0.21 percent of AUM, and 116.39 percent of industry inflows in July 2023, and with $15.262 billion in net inflows, 0.1 percent of AUM, and 316.9 percent of industry inflows in August 2022.

As of August 31, the eight largest fund firms have brought in $98.569 billion in net 2023 inflows. That's equivalent to 0.57 percent of their combined AUM and accounts for 204.66 percent of overall industry long-term inflows YTD.

Across the entire industry, the 780 firms tracked by the M* team (up M/M from 779, down Y/Y from 784) suffered $24.468 billion in net August 2023 outflows, equivalent to 0.1 percent of their combined $25.211 trillion in AUM across 42,226 funds. That compares with $32.39 billion in net inflows, 0.13 percent of AUM, $25.75 trillion in AUM, and 42,167 funds in July 2023, and with $4.816 billion in net inflows, 0.02 percent of AUM, and $23.433 trillion in AUM in August 2022.

Active funds suffered an estimated $34.337 billion in net August 2023 outflows, up M/M from $24.413 billion and up Y/Y from $33.062 billion. On the flip side, passive funds brought in $9.869 billion in net August 2023 inflows, down M/M from $56.803 billion and down Y/Y from $37.845 billion.

As of August 31, the industry has brought in $48.162 billion in net 2023 inflows. That's equivalent to 0.19 percent of its total long-term fund AUM.

***This caveat is particularly important for jumbo fund firms, many of which are big players in the 401(k) business, where collective investment trusts (CITs) and separately managed accounts (SMAs) are commonly used alternatives to traditional mutual funds. 

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