US Fund Flows: ETFs Surpass $10 Trillion Amid Record Inflows in 2024

Long-term US funds pulled in $721 billion in 2024, equivalent to 2.7% of year-end 2023 assets. That rate was the best since 2021 and the third-best mark over the past 10 years. December saw $97 billion of inflows, bringing the fourth-quarter total to $294 billion. Only sector-equity funds and allocation funds suffered net outflows in 2024; the remaining eight category groups enjoyed inflows. 

The charts below illustrate which direction the money is flowing for a variety of fund types. For a more complete analysis, download the full monthly report from Morningstar’s Adam Sabban and Ryan Jackson. 

This data was sourced from Morningstar Direct. Not a user? Get a free trial of Direct. 

The three largest category groups all ended the year with a lower share of assets in actively managed funds than ever before. However, the trend for taxable-bond funds was nearly flat, while international-equity funds saw a modest shift. Active US equity funds, however, continued to languish. They now hold just over a third of the category group’s overall asset base. 

Investors piled a record $1.1 trillion into ETFs in 2024 behind soaring stock markets and an ever-expanding menu of offerings. That avalanche of inflows propelled ETFs’ total assets past $10 trillion. That translates to about one-third of the total US fund market—a dramatic leap from ETFs’ 14% market share at the end of 2014 and 5% share as of 2004. 

Flows into index bond strategies were predictably solid in 2024, and actively managed funds rounded back into form after a rocky two years. That balance helped the taxable-bond cohort rake in $482 billion on the year, triple the next-closest category group. That marked its best haul since 2021 and translated into a 9.3% organic growth rate. 

For more comprehensive analysis and commentary on US Fund Flows, download this month’s full report.

Additional topics include: 

• Active/passive flows by US category group 

• Flows for the largest fund families 

• Government bond fund and money market flows  

Can’t get enough fund flows data? Check out Morningstar’s Ultimate Guide to Fund Flows. 

This article is adapted from the Morningstar U.S. Fund Flows report for December 2024. Download the full report here. 

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