Most investment managers see outflows - but who captured the most?

Over the past year, most investment managers recorded net outflows, however, a few defied that trend in a big way, netting over $1 billion, according to Rainmaker Information.

Of the 160 managers in Rainmaker's database, 90 had net outflows, with a median outflow of $104 million. Among managers with net inflows, the median was $142 million.

Betashares posted the highest net flows over the period ($8.8 billion), followed by BlackRock ($8 billion), Vanguard ($6.6 billion), and VanEck ($4.2 billion).

This placement is reflective of the stark divide between unit trusts and exchange-traded products (ETPs), as unit trusts saw negative net flows of $15.7 billion, whereas ETPs benefited from positive net flows of $29 billion.

Unit trusts did gain 1% or $8 billion in funds under management over the period, but without positive market returns, they would've experienced a 2% decline in flows.

ETPs, meanwhile, saw a 24% year-on-year ($40 billion), with 17% driven by net flows and 7% from market gains.

"The managed funds industry continues to attract funds, but there's a sharp contrast between unlisted unit trusts and ETFs," Rainmaker said.

Seven asset class sectors had positive net flows over the period: short-duration bonds (credit, high yield and absolute return), Australian equities large cap, diversified bonds, international equities small caps, cash, international equities large cap, and emerging markets equities.

International equities small caps were the fastest-growing sector, expanding 29% over the period with $2.4 billion in net funds flow. In contrast, international equities large cap had only slightly positive net flows of $473 million.