ISS MI U.S. Quarterly and Monthly Reports - September 2021 Highlights

Active long-term net commitments remained positive at US$11.2 billion, though this served as a decline from the US$25.4 billion gathered during August. The September total was the lowest that active funds have brought in any month of 2021.

Index fund flows also slipped during September (US$49.5 billion) compared to the amount gathered in August (US$69.2 billion). Like with active funds, this served as the lowest monthly total during 2021 for both ETFs (US$43.2 billion) and mutual funds (US$6.3 billion).

Despite relative low points for fund flows in September, long-term industry net deposits for the year are reaching record levels. Net inflows for the first nine months of the year added up to US$945.5 billion, surpassing the annual totals of every year on record. 2017 witnessed what is now the second-highest inflow total at US$713.6 billion.

Money market funds have continued to attract interest even as long-term funds experience phenomenal levels of demand. The asset class attracted flows of US$1.9 billion in September, though this represented a notable decline from the US$25.0 billion gathered in August. Still, net commitments for 2021 totalled US$190.3 billion.