12 February 2024Deutsche BankResearch Europe North America Financial Brokers, Asset Managers & Exchanges Industry Asset Managers Date Industry Update A Look at 1QTD Active Mutual Fund Performance and Recent Flow TrendsNet flows were mixed 1QTD, Jan. MF fund performance weakerIn this report, we assess investment performance trends of the largest actively-managed mutual fund categories for each traditional asset manager in our coverage universe, using data from Morningstar Direct. Overall, relative investment performance in January mostly weakened versus 4Q23 across our coverage (albeit it is still early in the quarter). However, we note that Janus Henderson Group (JHG-Hold) has exhibited notable performance improvement across all periods in 1Q so far. In contrast, performance for T.Rowe Price (TROW-Hold) in 4Q23 and January appears to remain challenged. We see the active fund industry as having broadly underperformed passive ETFs in 1Q so far, though with a lesser magnitude compared to 4Q23. Net flows across our coverage are mixed YTD so far, however, there are some bright spots including robust iShares inflows at BlackRock (BLK-Buy), positive long-term flows reported in January for Invesco (IVZ-Hold), and strong money market inflows for Federated Hermes (FHI-Buy).Relative investment performance trends across our coverageIn Figures 1 through 21, we show performance rankings for the largest mutual fund categories for each of the seven traditional asset managers we cover - Affiliated Managers Group (AMG), BlackRock (BLK), Franklin Resources (BEN), Federated Hermes (FHI), Invesco (IVZ), Janus Henderson Group (JHG) and T. Rowe Price (TROW). We show three charts for each company, showing aggregated percentile rankings since 1Q19 on: 1) a quarterly basis, 2) a 1-year basis, and 3) a 3-year basis, all updated through the end of January (see methodology section below and see Figures 1 to 21 for the detailed analysis).Overall, we make the following high level summary observations across our coverage for mutual fund performance vs. peers in comparable investment categories:For our 4Q23 earnings preview note, please see our report titled, "Brokers, Asset Managers & Exchanges: Favoring SCHW; and KKR in the Alternative Asset Managers." Link to report below:Click hereFor our 2024 year-ahead report, please see our report titled, "Brokers, Asset Managers & Exchanges: 2024: A Year of Vigorous Debates; We Favor The Alts & Upgrading BAM." Link to report below:Click hereBrian Bedell, CFAResearch Analyst+1-212-250-6600Sam Desai, CFAResearch Associate+1-212-250-9761Son NguyenResearch Associate+1-212-250-9311Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.IMPORTANT RESEARCH DISCLOSURES AND ANALYST CERTIFICATIONS LOCATED IN APPENDIX 1. Deutsche Bank does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. Thus, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of intere...
