Morningstar Reports December, Full-Year 2014 U.S. Mutual Fund and ETF Asset Flows

CHICAGO, Jan. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. MORN, a leading provider of independent investment research, today reported estimated December and full-year 2014 U.S. mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) asset flows. In 2014, passive flows exceeded active flows for all equity Morningstar Category Groups, as well as for taxable-bond funds. Investors appeared to still favor active management for allocation, municipal bond, and alternative funds.

In terms of annual flows by category group, fixed-income funds received the vast majority of investor money from 2009 to 2012 amid the flight-to-safety trend that followed the financial crisis. Investors did not regain confidence in equities until 2013, when U.S. and international-equity flows again surpassed fixed-income flows. Asset flows were fairly balanced in 2014; international-equity funds led the way, trailed closely by U.S. equity funds.

Morningstar estimates net flow for mutual funds by computing the change in assets not explained by the performance of the fund and net flow for ETFs by computing the change in shares outstanding.

Additional highlights from Morningstar's latest report about U.S. asset flows:

• Active U.S. equity funds saw outflows for the 10th consecutive month in December, while passive U.S. equity funds collected inflows for the 11th straight month. Overall in 2014, active U.S. equity funds shed $98.4 billion, and passive U.S. equity funds took in $166.6 billion.
• On the fixed-income side, active taxable-bond funds remained in negative territory at year end. Investors withdrew an estimated $23.0 billion from active taxable-bond funds in December after the category group saw a small inflow in November.
• Vanguard collected the greatest inflows among passive providers in 2014, and the firm was runner up in terms of one-year flows on the active side, too. J.P. Morgan was the active provider that attracted the most inflows over the trailing 12 months through its advisor-sold funds.
• Metropolitan West Total Return Bond and Dodge & Cox Income, which both have a Morningstar Analyst Rating™ of Gold, continued to dominate active fixed-income inflows. SPDR S&P 500 ETF recorded the largest inflow among passive funds for the second month in a row. Meanwhile, outflows from PIMCO Total Return amounted to $78.0 billion in the space of only four months, and MainStay Marketfield landed among the top five active funds with the greatest redemptions for the third consecutive month. 

To view the complete report, please visit http://www.global.morningstar.com/decflows14. To view a video recapping the latest U.S. asset flow trends, please visit http://bit.ly/dec2014flows. For more information about Morningstar Asset Flows, please visit http://global.morningstar.com/assetflows. 

The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. References to and commentary about the above mentioned funds should not be considered a solicitation to buy or sell that fund.

About Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on approximately 479,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 13 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries and had approximately $169 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2014. The company has operations in 27 countries.

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Media Contact:
Carling Spelhaug, +1 312 696-6150 or carling.spelhaug@morningstar.com

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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.