CHICAGO, Oct. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today reported estimated U.S. mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) asset flows for September 2014. Long-term mutual funds and ETFs attracted $9.0 billion of new investor cash during the month. Active taxable-bond funds registered their most significant monthly outflow since June 2013, $18.7 billion, spurred by the Sept. 26, 2014 announcement of Bill Gross' departure from PIMCO. Outflows from PIMCO Total Return aside, taxable-bond funds have otherwise seen relatively consistent inflows year to date. Morningstar estimates net flow for mutual funds by computing the change in assets not explained by the performance of the fund and net flow for ETFs by computing the change in shares outstanding.

Additional highlights from Morningstar's report about U.S. asset flows in September: 


    --  Active and passive U.S. equity fund flows continued to move in opposite
        directions--active U.S. equity funds saw outflows for the seventh
        consecutive month, and passive U.S. equity funds collected inflows for
        the eighth consecutive month.
    --  Among passive funds, all categories except commodities funds saw inflows
        in September, most notably U.S. and international-equity offerings.
        Total passive flows were larger than total active flows for the seventh
        straight month.
    --  The three active funds with the heaviest outflows during the month were
        PIMCO funds formerly managed by Bill Gross, which lost a little more
        than $23.3 billion. Two intermediate-term bond funds that appeared to be
        reaping the benefits of investors seeking alternatives to PIMCO include
        Metropolitan West Total Return Bond, which has a Morningstar Analyst
        Rating(TM) of Gold, and unrated Fidelity® Series Investment Grade Bond.
        On the passive side, Vanguard Total Bond Market Index also collected
        large sums of fixed-income-oriented money.

To view the complete report, please visit http://www.global.morningstar.com/septflows14. For more information about Morningstar Asset Flows, please visit http://global.morningstar.com/assetflows.

The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. References to and commentary about the above mentioned mutual funds should not be considered a solicitation to buy or sell that fund.

About Morningstar, Inc.
 Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on approximately 473,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 12 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries and had approximately $169 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2014. The company has operations in 27 countries.

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Media Contact:
Carling Spelhaug, +1 312 696-6150 or carling.spelhaug@morningstar.com

SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.