Slideshow Best flows at worst performing funds

One investor’s loss can be another’s buying opportunity — just look at the cash flows these losing funds raked in over the past year.

We considered funds with at least $100 million in assets that posted a loss over the past 12 months and ranked them by their inflows over that time. The average inflow was $667 million; the average return was -9%.

While performance chasing gets a lot of attention, this list shows the opposite trend can quietly happen at the same time. That is, these investors are buying on the downside, possibly due to a disciplined dollar-cost averaging strategy, in hopes of an upturn. Indeed, 2017 numbers show that the pendulum does swing. Year-to-date performance for these funds, while still averaging a loss, was less than -1%. The median was almost 5%.

Moreover, the fact that more than half of these funds are in real estate, with the rest being in oil or gold, suggests tactical buying rather than a long-term strategic strategy.

Scroll through to see the biggest cash inflows from funds that have posted a loss for the past 12 months. All data from Morningstar.

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $45
1-Yr. Returns: -1.25%
Expense Ratio: 0.83%
Total Assets (millions): $847

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $73
1-Yr. Returns: -3.34%
Expense Ratio: 0.28%
Total Assets (millions): $150

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $84
1-Yr. Returns: -26.85%
Expense Ratio: 1.11%
Total Assets (millions): $1,084

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $104
1-Yr. Returns: -12.87%
Expense Ratio: 0.35%
Total Assets (millions): $236

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $113
1-Yr. Returns: -26.77%
Expense Ratio: 0.57%
Total Assets (millions): $159

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $152
1-Yr. Returns: -2.10%
Expense Ratio: 0.35%
Total Assets (millions): $950

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $170
1-Yr. Returns: -26.81%
Expense Ratio: 0.39%
Total Assets (millions): $375

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $208
1-Yr. Returns: -1.52%
Expense Ratio: 0.11%
Total Assets (millions): $387

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $216
1-Yr. Returns: -4.78%
Expense Ratio: 0.14%
Total Assets (millions): $405

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $231
1-Yr. Returns: -4.01
Expense Ratio: 0.98%
Total Assets (millions): $256

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $370
1-Yr. Returns: -4.00%
Expense Ratio: 0.50%
Total Assets (millions): $2,669

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $447
1-Yr. Returns: -10.63%
Expense Ratio: 0.35%
Total Assets (millions): $983

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $691
1-Yr. Returns: -3.89%
Expense Ratio: 1.08%
Total Assets (millions): $3,744

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $851
1-Yr. Returns: -4.22%
Expense Ratio: 0.35%
Total Assets (millions): $2,024

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $943
1-Yr. Returns: -5.86%
Expense Ratio: 0.07%
Total Assets (millions): $3,520

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $1,217
1-Yr. Returns: -2.65%
Expense Ratio: 0.19%
Total Assets (millions): $1,310

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $1,343
1-Yr. Returns: -29.21%
Expense Ratio: 0.52%
Total Assets (millions): $3,922

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $1,487
1-Yr. Returns: -2.20%
Expense Ratio: 1.19%
Total Assets (millions): $4,061

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $2,161
1-Yr. Returns: -4.82%
Expense Ratio: 0.26%
Total Assets (millions): $64,623

1-Yr. Flows (millions): $2,437
1-Yr. Returns: -2.20%
Expense Ratio: 0.07%
Total Assets (millions): $2,434