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Morningstar Reports U.S. Mutual Fund Asset Flows Through January 2013

^{Published on 2013-02-12 12:45:30 - Market Wire}
 

Morningstar Reports U.S. Mutual Fund Asset Flows Through January 2013 -- CHICAGO, Feb. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

CHICAGO, Feb. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ MORN ]), a leading provider of independent investment research, today reported estimated U.S. [ mutual fund ] asset flows through January 2013. Investors added $86.5 billion to long-term open-end mutual funds in January, and 72 of 93 open-end categories recorded inflows. Combined with inflows of $28.6 billion for exchange-traded funds, it was by far the largest one-month inflow on record. All asset classes and each of the top-10 open-end fund providers saw long-term fund inflows.

"Market observers have been waiting for a sign that the multi-year trend of investors buying fixed income while selling U.S. stocks would reverse in a so-called 'great rotation,'" said Mike Rawson , fund analyst on Morningstar's passive funds research team. "Inflows of $15.5 billion for U.S.-stock funds, the largest monthly intake since 2004, and the first month of inflows in the last 23 for active U.S.-stock funds, support this development. However, U.S.-stock funds experienced slower organic growth than any other major asset class in January, and seasonal and one-time factors such as lump-sum contributions to retirement accounts and acceleration of dividend payments indicate that claims of a paradigm shift in investor behavior may be premature."

Additional highlights from Morningstar's report on mutual fund flows:

• Continuing a trend that has persisted for more than four years and demonstrating that investors have not abandoned fixed income, the intermediate-term bond category had the greatest inflows in January with $10.5 billion.
• Taxable-bond funds led all asset classes with inflows of $31.0 billion in January, followed by international-stock funds, which took in $18.4 billion during the month.
• Vanguard topped all fund families in January with overall inflows of $17.6 billion, 87 percent of which flowed to the firm's passive lineup. Vanguard funds swept the top three spots for fund-level inflows, led by Vanguard Total Bond Market's inflows of $4.3 billion. American Funds saw its first monthly inflow since June 2009.

To view the complete report, please visit [ http://www.global.morningstar.com/janflows13 ]. 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 more than 385,000 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 registered investment advisor subsidiaries and has approximately $195 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2012. The company has operations in 27 countries.

©2013 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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

SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.