Asia leading gains again - Global FlowWatch - August 2018 Results

Global long-term mutual funds collected US$20 billion in net new money during the month of August. Local Asia led gains for a second consecutive month, with over US$8 billion in net deposits, followed by Local Europe with US$5 billion. Crossborder and the U.S. saw a collective inflow of about $6 billion, while Latin America attracted US$1 billion in net new cash.

Passively managed funds collected US$44 billion in new investor money, but this was partially offset by the aggregate US$24 billion redeemed from active funds. Investors in the U.S. were the largest benefactors of passive funds, with $34 billion in aggregate contributions. Globally, bond funds, were once again the overall best-selling asset class, with US$13 billion in net subscriptions.

BlackRock was the best-performing manager during the month, with US$15 billion in net new cash. About 45% of BlackRock’s aggregate flows were due to its best-selling fund; the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, which attracted nearly US$7 billion in new investor money. The fund has US$164 billion in AUM as of August, and offers investors exposure to five hundred of the largest cap U.S.stocks.