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"Fund flows are kind of funny; they can be bad, good, or indifferent. A fund wants a slow but steady flow of new money so managers can add a little more than they sell. But the markets are not always so kind. Sometimes flows come or go in a hurry, and that’s a problem."
"Let’s look at some of the funds that were at both extremes of the flow spectrum over the trailing year through March 2025. I’ll focus on active funds because flows rarely affect passive funds’ ability to execute their approaches."
I’ll say. I’m having trouble finding a common thread. It does look like bond funds have generated more interest over the past year - perhaps partially owing to the very high stock valuations and folks locking in gains. Perhaps in part a flight to safety owing to the political / financial chaos. Additionally, some of the bond inflows could be from disappointed cash investors reaching for yield as rates for cash have fallen over the past year.
The bond flows went both ways. Franklin’s Western Asset, especially, lost assets owing to the Ken Leech allegations. Equity funds look like a mixed bag. It appears value stock funds did well in asset flows. Since when did retail investors take a liking to deep value?
I’m curious whether more of these flows (in total dollar terms) were initiated by individual “Mom & Pop” investors (you and me) acting on their own or whether more of it was at the direction / behest of financial advisors / plan sponsors acting in their clients’ best interest?
Hate to ask - But has PRWCX continued to draw money? Or has some of the recent inflow reversed? Last I looked it was about flat YTD.
After today PRWCX is off about 3.5% YTD. Truly insignificant following consecutive years of +18%. and +24%. The fact some $$ has floweddribbled out does not surprise. I’d have expected more.
PRWCX has been closed for years. AUM $64.1 billion.
Yes. Of course. But I believe money has until recently continued to flow in from existing shareholders ballooning the total AUM. Also, ISTM there are still some avenues for entry. There have been threads in the past that mentioned “gifting” a share to others. And ISTM someone mentioned that with a very high initial investment it was recently made accessible? Might be wrong.
Don’t mean to divert the discussion away from the excellent M* piece linked by @Observant1. My initial post looks at several aspects of the M* piece. I don’t think PRWCX was even mentioned in the article.
Very interesting trend. Since there are more opportunities in bonds than that of stocks, it is no surprise that PIMIX to have considerable gain AUM. High valuation and uncertain political policy certainly contributed to the shift.
Would be nice to see the AUM split between index funds vs active managed funds for the last 10 years, for example?
Comments
I’ll say. I’m having trouble finding a common thread. It does look like bond funds have generated more interest over the past year - perhaps partially owing to the very high stock valuations and folks locking in gains. Perhaps in part a flight to safety owing to the political / financial chaos. Additionally, some of the bond inflows could be from disappointed cash investors reaching for yield as rates for cash have fallen over the past year.
The bond flows went both ways. Franklin’s Western Asset, especially, lost assets owing to the Ken Leech allegations. Equity funds look like a mixed bag. It appears value stock funds did well in asset flows. Since when did retail investors take a liking to deep value?
I’m curious whether more of these flows (in total dollar terms) were initiated by individual “Mom & Pop” investors (you and me) acting on their own or whether more of it was at the direction / behest of financial advisors / plan sponsors acting in their clients’ best interest?
Hate to ask - But has PRWCX continued to draw money? Or has some of the recent inflow reversed? Last I looked it was about flat YTD.
After today PRWCX is off about 3.5% YTD. Truly insignificant following consecutive years of +18%. and +24%. The fact some $$ has
floweddribbled out does not surprise. I’d have expected more.T Rowe Price has introduced similar funds that are open. FLOW data below from MFOP.
Etf TCAF with 100% equity: inflows for 10 months $4.0 billion, for 3 months $1.0 billion. AUM $4.2 billion.
More conservative PRCFX: inflows for 10 months $92.8 million, for 3 months $31.7 million. AUM $270.6 million.
Don’t mean to divert the discussion away from the excellent M* piece linked by @Observant1. My initial post looks at several aspects of the M* piece. I don’t think PRWCX was even mentioned in the article.
Would be nice to see the AUM split between index funds vs active managed funds for the last 10 years, for example?