Active U.S. Equity Funds Remain Also-Rans

April 2018 asset flows returned to form after the prior month's anomalies. Following two consecutive months of outflows, U.S. equity funds rebounded with estimated inflows of $6.8 billion. That rebound owed to passive U.S. equity funds resuming their dominance over their active counterparts, collecting $18.2 billion in inflows while active funds lost about $11.4 billion to outflows. Overall, trailing 12-month U.S. equity flows remain negative--to the tune of $42.6 billion, or a 0.6% decline.

Core large-blend funds were once again the most popular Morningstar Category by far, with $10.8 billion in inflows. To put this dominance in perspective, large-blend funds took in $14.4 billion for the year to date through April. The second most popular U.S. equity category was mid-cap blend funds, which collected about $200 million over the same period. The most popular fund year to date is  Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (VTSMX) with $19 billion in inflows, followed by  Vanguard 500 Index's (VFINX) $15.1 billion.