Morningstar Reports U.S. Mutual Fund and ETF Asset Flows for March 2018

CHICAGO, April 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today reported estimated U.S. mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) asset flows for March 2018. In March, investors pulled $10.5 billion out of U.S. equity passive funds, compared with $8.4 billion in the previous month. On the active front, investors pulled $11.0 billion, compared with $17.7 billion in February. 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.

Morningstar's report about U.S. asset flows for March 2018 is available here. Highlights from the report include:

• Taxable-bond and international-equity funds were the leading category groups, with flows of $15.9 billion and $13.3 billion, respectively.
• March's inflows across all category groups were nearly $13.4 billion, compared with $7.7 in outflows in February.
• The Morningstar Categories with the highest inflows in March were foreign large-blend, ultrashort bond, and intermediate bond funds with inflows of $13.5 billion, $6.0 billion and $4.8 billion, respectively. On the bottom-flowing list in March, large blend continued to see the most outflows of $19.0 billion while high-yield bond experienced outflows for the sixth consecutive month.
• Among top U.S. fund families, Vanguard was the leader in overall flows with $14.8 billion in March and approximately $59.0 billion for the quarter, down from the $116.5 billion collected in 2017's first quarter, and which represents the fourth consecutive quarter of declining inflows.
• Among all U.S. open-end mutual funds and ETFs, Vanguard Total International Stock Index, which has a Morningstar Analyst Rating™ of Gold, had the highest inflows of $5.3 billion. Silver-rated iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF and Gold-rated Vanguard Total Stock Market Index followed with inflows of $4.7 billion and $4.6 billion, respectively. On the bottom-flowing list in March, Gold-rated SPDR S&P 500 ETF had the highest outflows of $15.0 billion. 

To view the complete report, please click here.

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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, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and institutional investors in the private capital markets. Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than $195 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Dec. 31, 2017. The company has operations in 27 countries.

Morningstar's Manager Research Group consists of various wholly owned subsidiaries of Morningstar, Inc. including, but not limited to, Morningstar Research Services LLC. Morningstar's Manager Research Group produces various ratings including the Morningstar Analyst Rating for funds and the Morningstar Quantitative Rating for funds. The Analyst Rating is derived from a qualitative assessment process performed by a manager research analyst, whereas the Morningstar Quantitative Rating uses a machine-learning model based on the decision-making processes of Morningstar's analysts, their past ratings decisions, and the data used to support those decisions. In both cases, the ratings are forward-looking assessments and include assumptions of future events, which may or may not occur or may differ significantly from what was assumed. The Analyst Ratings and Quantitative Ratings are statements of opinions, subject to change, are not to be considered as guarantees, and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. This press release is for informational purposes only; references to securities should not be considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the securities.

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Media Contact:
Sarah Wirth, +1 312 244-7358 or sarah.wirth@morningstar.com

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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.