CHICAGO, March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc.
(NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment
research, today reported estimated U.S. mutual fund asset flows
through February 2012. Open-end
mutual funds had their strongest monthly long-term inflows in
nearly two years, taking in an estimated $43.8 billion in February. Taxable-bond funds
dominated inflows by asset class. These offerings collected
$28.9 billion during the month, their
highest monthly intake since March
2010. Taxable-bond assets have more than doubled from
$1.0 trillion to $2.1 trillion in the
little more than three years since the end of 2008. The group's
share of overall long-term mutual fund assets has grown to 25% from
about 20.6%, fueled by inflows of about $678.4 billion during the period.
Additional highlights from Morningstar's report on mutual
fund flows:
- Outflows continued for U.S.-stock funds as investors redeemed
$1.2 billion in February. However,
this was the smallest monthly outflow for the asset class in 10
months.
- Passively managed U.S.-stock funds continue to attract money at
the expense of their actively managed brethren. While actively
managed funds have suffered outflows of $134.4 billion over the last 12 months, passively
managed funds have collected about $20.1
billion in new assets.
- DoubleLine Total Return led all funds in February with inflows
of nearly $2.4 billion. At the other
end of the spectrum, American Funds Growth Fund of America saw
outflows of $3.1 billion.
- Municipal-bond funds continued their return to normality with
inflows of about $6.5 billion, which
is close to the asset class' long-term baseline.
To view the complete report, please visit
http://www.global.morningstar.com/febflows12. To view a video
recapping February's U.S. fund flow trends, please visit
http://bit.ly/febflows. 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.
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 individuals, financial advisors, and
institutions. Morningstar provides data on approximately 375,000
investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar
vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 8
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 management subsidiaries and has more than
$180 billion in assets under
advisement and management as of Dec. 31,
2011. The company has operations in 27 countries.
©2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
MORN-R
Media Contact:
Carling Spelhaug, 312-696-6150 or
carling.spelhaug@morningstar.com
SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.