wsj: Stockpickers snubbed as money pours into Vanguard

[jeepster]

Investors poured a net $336B into passively managed stock and bond funds last year vs. $53B into traditional mutual funds. Thus far in 2014, the passive funds have seen $177B of inflows vs. $74B into actively-managed funds. As for just stocks, those funds have received $128.4B of inflows this year vs. just $18B for traditional mutual funds.

Helping Vanguard is its "2nd-best salesman" Warren Buffett, who advised his estate's trustee to put 10% of his cash in short-term government bonds and the rest in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund - Vanguard's, he suggested. in the five months following that note, Vanguard saw $5.5B of inflows, about triple the amount seen in the same period the previous year.

Vanguard's gains have come amid major losses for rival Pimco, whose Total Return Fund with $223B in assets can no longer lay claim to being the world's largest mutual fund. That title now goes to Vanguard's Total Stock Market Index Fund with nearly $300B in AUM.

Also benefitting from the passive wave is BlackRock, whose iShares ETFs have received $53B in inflows this year, the largest amount of any fund company.

[ddyy]

Another stockpicker, a long-time fan of Vanguard:
http://www.marketwatch.com/lazyportfoli ... ly-taxable