##  [# ETF Demand Relentless, $74B In April](/sections/monthly-etf-flows/etf-demand-relentless-74b-april) 

 

# ETF Demand Relentless, $74B In April

 

 

U.S.-listed ETFs have taken in $320 billion in new assets so far this year after April's deluge of inflows.



 

 

 

 

 [![sumit](/sites/default/files/styles/author_image_icon/public/2023-03/Sumit_0.png?itok=SO-7S5SH "sumit")](/authors/sumit-roy) 

[By Sumit Roy ](/authors/sumit-roy)

 May 01, 2021

 Edited by: Sumit Roy 

 

 

 [ + Follow ](/etf/login) 

     Share  <a class="a2a a2a_button_email"> Email </a><a class="a2a a2a_button_linkedin"> LinkedIn </a><a class="a2a a2a_button_facebook"> Facebook </a><a class="a2a a2a_button_x"> X (Twitter) </a> 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
            googletag.cmd.push(function() {
                googletag.display('js-dfp-tag-article_page_302x26');
            });
    
    

 

 

  

 



 

 

  Loading 

 

 



 

 

ETFs continued to swallow up assets in April as investors added $74.2 billion to the space. An unrelenting rally in U.S. stocks helped the mood during the month: The S&amp;P 500 breached 4,200 for the first time, bringing its year-to-date gains up to 11.7%.

With four months in the books, U.S.-listed ETFs have pulled in a net $320.3 billion in fresh cash, well ahead of last year’s $121.1 billion pace.

While certainly large and impressive, nothing about April’s inflows was particularly surprising. U.S. equity ETFs picked up the lion’s share of new assets—$31.8 billion—followed by U.S. fixed income ETFs at $22.3 billion and international equity ETFs at $17.4 billion.

On a year-to-date basis, the ordering is slightly different: U.S. equity ETFs are in the lead with $152.2 billion of inflows, followed by international equity ETFs at $100 billion and U.S. fixed income ETFs at $53.7 billion.

**Shortening Duration**

April’s top inflows list was chock-full of the usual low cost, broad market ETFs. The [**Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI)**](https://www.etf.com/VTI), the [**Vanguard S&amp;P 500 ETF (VOO)**](https://www.etf.com/voo) and the [**Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Index ETF (VGSH)**](https://www.etf.com/vgsh) each picked up more than $2.4 billion of new assets during the month.

VGSH exemplified the move into short-dated fixed income securities during April. As a short-term Treasury ETF, VGSH doesn’t have as much interest rate risk as some other fixed income ETFs, a characteristic that investors might find appealing in an environment where rates have been climbing upward.

With asset prices elevated across the board, something like VGSH could also act as a place to park cash for investors interested in lightening up on risk.

**‘TLT’ Struggles**

The inflows into VGSH contrast with the $2.1 billion pulled from the [**iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT)**](https://www.etf.com/tlt). The fund has struggled this year, losing 12% of its value as rates have jumped. In its April FOMC meeting, the Fed remained committed to keeping its benchmark rate near zero and its asset purchases at their current levels.

But many investors believe the central bank will start to pare back its stimulus measures if the economy keeps booming. TLT is among the most interest-rate-sensitive bond ETFs, making it particularly vulnerable to a rate spike.

Joining TLT on the top outflows list for April were the [**SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)**](https://www.etf.com/spy), the [**iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM)**](https://www.etf.com/iwm), the [**ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ)**](https://www.etf.com/tqqq) and the [**SPDR Gold Trust (GLD)**](https://www.etf.com/gld).

For a full list of the top inflows and outflows for April and 2021 as a whole, see the tables below:

Top Gainers (April 2021)

TickerNameIssuerNet Flows ($,mm)AUM ($M)% of AUMYTD 2021 Net Flows($,M)[VTI](https://www.etf.com/VTI)[Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF](https://www.etf.com/VTI)Vanguard4,176.79240,609.771.74%13,920.91[VOO](https://www.etf.com/VOO)[Vanguard S&amp;P 500 ETF](https://www.etf.com/VOO)Vanguard3,219.85220,344.191.46%20,291.96[VGSH](https://www.etf.com/VGSH)[Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Index ETF](https://www.etf.com/VGSH)Vanguard2,401.2512,554.0919.13%2,736.67[BND](https://www.etf.com/BND)[Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF](https://www.etf.com/BND)Vanguard2,363.8673,844.353.20%8,032.17[IVV](https://www.etf.com/IVV)[iShares Core S&amp;P 500 ETF](https://www.etf.com/IVV)Blackrock2,217.00277,912.320.80%10,975.70[VTV](https://www.etf.com/VTV)[Vanguard Value ETF](https://www.etf.com/VTV)Vanguard2,161.7177,272.502.80%6,803.47[AGG](https://www.etf.com/AGG)[iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF](https://www.etf.com/AGG)Blackrock2,068.0986,948.472.38%4,458.64[SCHD](https://www.etf.com/SCHD)[Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF](https://www.etf.com/SCHD)Charles Schwab1,788.7023,465.617.62%4,411.23[GOVT](https://www.etf.com/GOVT)[iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF](https://www.etf.com/GOVT)Blackrock1,759.3816,198.5610.86%2,175.61[BBEU](https://www.etf.com/BBEU)[JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF](https://www.etf.com/BBEU)JPMorgan Chase1,655.066,313.2626.22%2,485.87Top Gainers (Year-to-Date)

TickerNameIssuerNet Flows ($,mm)AUM ($M)% of AUMApril 2021 Net Flows($,M)[VOO](https://www.etf.com/VOO)[Vanguard S&amp;P 500 ETF](https://www.etf.com/VOO)Vanguard20,291.96220,344.199.21%3,219.85[VTI](https://www.etf.com/VTI)[Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF](https://www.etf.com/VTI)Vanguard13,920.91240,609.775.79%4,176.79[IVV](https://www.etf.com/IVV)[iShares Core S&amp;P 500 ETF](https://www.etf.com/IVV)Blackrock10,975.70277,912.323.95%2,217.00[XLF](https://www.etf.com/XLF)[Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund](https://www.etf.com/XLF)State Street Global Advisors9,381.0440,563.0423.13%274.49[BND](https://www.etf.com/BND)[Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF](https://www.etf.com/BND)Vanguard8,032.1773,844.3510.88%2,363.86[IEMG](https://www.etf.com/IEMG)[iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF](https://www.etf.com/IEMG)Blackrock7,549.7181,272.059.29%115.55[ARKK](https://www.etf.com/ARKK)[ARK Innovation ETF](https://www.etf.com/ARKK)ARK7,513.6024,427.3430.76%1,029.67[IUSB](https://www.etf.com/IUSB)[iShares Core Total USD Bond Market ETF](https://www.etf.com/IUSB)Blackrock6,889.6112,654.3954.44%492.00[VTV](https://www.etf.com/VTV)[Vanguard Value ETF](https://www.etf.com/VTV)Vanguard6,803.4777,272.508.80%2,161.71[XLE](https://www.etf.com/XLE)[Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund](https://www.etf.com/XLE)State Street Global Advisors5,198.1923,548.2922.07%643.81Biggest Losers (April 2021)

TickerNameIssuerNet Flows ($,mm)AUM ($M)% of AUMYTD 2021 Net Flows($,M)[SPY](https://www.etf.com/SPY)[SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust](https://www.etf.com/SPY)State Street Global Advisors-2,601.40360,922.32-0.72%-5,395.78[IWM](https://www.etf.com/IWM)[iShares Russell 2000 ETF](https://www.etf.com/IWM)Blackrock-2,531.2168,839.81-3.68%385.59[TLT](https://www.etf.com/TLT)[iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF](https://www.etf.com/TLT)Blackrock-2,099.8912,487.27-16.82%-4,360.12[TQQQ](https://www.etf.com/TQQQ)[ProShares UltraPro QQQ](https://www.etf.com/TQQQ)ProShares-1,489.0011,777.55-12.64%127.94[GLD](https://www.etf.com/GLD)[SPDR Gold Trust](https://www.etf.com/GLD)State Street Global Advisors-1,120.6957,930.86-1.93%-8,637.41[SHV](https://www.etf.com/SHV)[iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF](https://www.etf.com/SHV)Blackrock-952.6114,964.55-6.37%-2,866.77[XLP](https://www.etf.com/XLP)[Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund](https://www.etf.com/XLP)State Street Global Advisors-823.0710,197.15-8.07%-3,255.24[USMV](https://www.etf.com/USMV)[iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF](https://www.etf.com/USMV)Blackrock-688.0328,675.20-2.40%-6,269.97[MBB](https://www.etf.com/MBB)[iShares MBS ETF](https://www.etf.com/MBB)Blackrock-661.1425,788.17-2.56%832.49[EWY](https://www.etf.com/EWY)[iShares MSCI South Korea ETF](https://www.etf.com/EWY)Blackrock-625.577,293.01-8.58%-546.42Biggest Losers (Year-to-Date)

TickerNameIssuerNet Flows ($,mm)AUM ($M)% of AUMApril 2021 Net Flows($,M)[LQD](https://www.etf.com/LQD)[iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF](https://www.etf.com/LQD)Blackrock-11,030.5141,647.98-26.49%-592.98[GLD](https://www.etf.com/GLD)[SPDR Gold Trust](https://www.etf.com/GLD)State Street Global Advisors-8,637.4157,930.86-14.91%-1,120.69[USMV](https://www.etf.com/USMV)[iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF](https://www.etf.com/USMV)Blackrock-6,269.9728,675.20-21.87%-688.03[SPY](https://www.etf.com/SPY)[SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust](https://www.etf.com/SPY)State Street Global Advisors-5,395.78360,922.32-1.49%-2,601.40[TLT](https://www.etf.com/TLT)[iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF](https://www.etf.com/TLT)Blackrock-4,360.1212,487.27-34.92%-2,099.89[HYG](https://www.etf.com/HYG)[iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF](https://www.etf.com/HYG)Blackrock-4,185.3521,649.41-19.33%435.88[XLP](https://www.etf.com/XLP)[Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund](https://www.etf.com/XLP)State Street Global Advisors-3,255.2410,197.15-31.92%-823.07[QUAL](https://www.etf.com/QUAL)[iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF](https://www.etf.com/QUAL)Blackrock-2,872.2020,568.67-13.96%17.46[SHV](https://www.etf.com/SHV)[iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF](https://www.etf.com/SHV)Blackrock-2,866.7714,964.55-19.16%-952.61[JNK](https://www.etf.com/JNK)[SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF](https://www.etf.com/JNK)State Street Global Advisors-2,115.4510,427.10-20.29%-1.71Asset Classes (April 2021)

 Net Flows ($, mm)AUM ($, mm)% of AUM**U.S. Equity**31,819.443,640,649.310.87%**International Equity**17,381.231,240,730.211.40%**U.S. Fixed Income**22,347.681,004,146.782.23%**International Fixed Income**4,285.64134,655.283.18%**Commodities**-841.93133,740.16-0.63%**Currency**-134.711,767.41-7.62%**Leveraged**-2,145.2257,543.09-3.73%**Inverse**425.6810,851.463.92%**Asset Allocation**590.7315,624.583.78%**Alternatives**520.296,318.878.23%**Total:****74,248.83****6,246,027.16****1.19%**Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)

 Net Flows ($, mm)AUM ($, mm)% of AUM**U.S. Equity**152,159.373,640,649.314.18%**International Equity**100,042.181,240,730.218.06%**U.S. Fixed Income**53,663.031,004,146.785.34%**International Fixed Income**13,952.75134,655.2810.36%**Commodities**-6,591.19133,740.16-4.93%**Currency**-129.291,767.41-7.32%**Leveraged**1,526.2857,543.092.65%**Inverse**2,340.9010,851.4621.57%**Asset Allocation**1,592.8015,624.5810.19%**Alternatives**1,741.246,318.8727.56%**Total:****320,298.07****6,246,027.16****5.13%**April 2021 ETF Issuer League Table

IssuerNet Flows ($,M)AUM ($,M)% of AUMYTD 2021 Net Flows($,M)Blackrock17,561.802,238,851.760.78%61,537.30Vanguard28,462.531,658,653.831.72%114,120.41State Street Global Advisors5,562.84949,398.000.59%23,979.75Invesco1,870.45337,574.290.55%18,169.35Charles Schwab4,988.53234,892.652.12%15,707.24First Trust2,373.78123,073.831.93%8,684.38Vanguard Group, Inc.1,197.1798,564.871.21%3,708.83JPMorgan Chase2,881.6860,229.394.78%12,167.21Van Eck Associates Corp.1,351.9458,432.222.31%3,867.60ProShares-781.3054,708.81-1.43%3,507.15ARK1,562.2550,560.293.09%17,612.69WisdomTree217.0743,720.240.50%1,514.51Mirae Asset1,738.8431,647.595.49%9,382.29Fidelity626.3728,183.062.22%2,129.13PIMCO555.6227,082.912.05%1,246.43Direxion-761.5724,797.54-3.07%1,395.29Goldman Sachs-186.0723,143.81-0.80%-533.91Deutsche Bank202.1721,461.840.94%197.59Northern Trust422.1117,508.872.41%1,654.60CICC1,162.749,854.5211.80%3,624.38Franklin Templeton166.729,180.691.82%200.64SS&amp;C-1.509,145.98-0.02%346.20ETFMG123.267,408.161.66%1,103.76Exchange Traded Concepts85.356,841.991.25%963.98Aberdeen Standard Investments31.636,835.350.46%295.97Pacer Advisors176.616,703.532.63%364.93Victory Capital-184.276,319.42-2.92%76.53American Century Investments514.916,037.718.53%1,602.77Grace Partners of Dupage LP47.515,080.390.94%519.37Innovator204.064,941.814.13%662.23John Hancock49.964,938.671.01%-714.12Amplify Investments126.414,873.812.59%1,317.51Principal440.294,831.589.11%590.32US Commodity Funds-165.064,476.75-3.69%-1,635.77New York Life-272.824,319.75-6.32%278.17Janus Henderson10.574,172.480.25%233.94US Global Investors-36.193,986.92-0.91%473.75The Hartford-22.903,907.08-0.59%31.56Nuveen Securities148.723,795.013.92%829.15Barclays Capital Inc.401.353,258.8112.32%1,302.25BMO0.002,738.290.00%248.36AdvisorShares42.462,266.301.87%1,224.79Toroso Investments-20.201,979.21-1.02%406.27O’Shares Investments-0.121,595.42-0.01%45.18Prudential73.691,557.984.73%178.91Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC52.511,521.983.45%256.96Vident-3.131,499.37-0.21%-3.91GraniteShares38.761,453.152.67%144.06Defiance ETFs69.551,431.964.86%344.72Davis Advisers13.361,332.991.00%71.60Dimensional Holdings174.761,265.3713.81%794.78Aptus Capital Advisors45.651,188.023.84%160.60Virtus Investment Partners83.551,148.787.27%180.24UBS-13.561,071.25-1.27%-36.26Cambria-11.311,015.36-1.11%114.72Credit Suisse Group AG41.94949.424.42%183.52EMPIRICAL FINANCE LLC15.50939.211.65%208.59Main Management27.38929.282.95%182.42Inspire23.16911.162.54%100.61Transamerica Funds0.00792.550.00%-29.97BNY Mellon41.70778.025.36%226.18Renaissance Capital-41.67698.15-5.97%-53.07Roundhill Investments-20.08671.98-2.99%322.38Nationwide22.32647.263.45%129.81The Motley Fool0.95645.880.15%57.14Tortoise26.14526.454.97%40.58Strategy Shares102.49503.7220.35%279.04Timothy Plan7.66451.981.69%11.16Merk0.03448.620.01%35.91TrimTabs53.49436.2512.26%39.60SRN Advisors14.89403.833.69%77.84Teucrium-12.62389.05-3.24%5.69Sprott, Inc.-2.99382.95-0.78%17.77Al Marketing LLC-2.40370.83-0.65%-19.98Howard Capital Management12.10355.343.40%31.39Distillate Capital10.98346.123.17%92.93Liquid Strategies13.17341.133.86%35.71Horizon Kinetics LLC184.05331.6355.50%311.47Regents Park Funds24.89325.737.64%55.35Redwood Investment Management-34.11325.36-10.48%-125.44ClearShares LLC34.68312.7611.09%34.65WBI-6.78304.12-2.23%-42.64Swedish Export Credit21.86287.817.59%9.06Simplify Asset Management Inc.7.52275.132.73%143.46T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.24.54263.449.32%91.11Tuttle Tactical Management, LLC-15.73259.66-6.06%105.23OBP Capital LLC1.31244.000.54%116.87Donald L. Hagan LLC38.10221.6117.19%64.64EntrepreneurShares, LLC-1.27188.45-0.67%1.96Intangible Capital0.00185.520.00%-0.02Core Alternative Capital7.25169.244.28%24.04Little Harbor Advisors14.38149.039.65%82.22Cboe Vest Financial LLC34.09146.5823.25%48.95ProcureAM-2.99133.31-2.24%81.50TrueMark Investments9.48122.997.70%47.76Syntax Advisors0.00116.800.00%19.79Gadsden1.29112.931.14%9.92Arrow Funds0.00112.500.00%0.56AGF2.99107.012.80%-15.13Wahed Invest LLC8.20102.857.98%28.25CornerCap Investment Counsel, Inc.-0.01100.58-0.01%27.47Exponential ETFs-0.2996.84-0.30%1.20Kingsview Partners LLC5.7485.946.68%80.23Wainwright, Inc.54.1675.4471.79%70.30Pettee Investors7.8470.3111.15%17.76Humankind USA LLC9.3166.7513.95%59.78Natixis3.8064.115.92%10.41Change Finance6.2362.609.95%23.85Metaurus Advisors0.9861.871.58%3.45Advisors Asset Management0.2159.140.35%9.52Pacific Life-0.1157.15-0.19%-0.11Impact Shares10.3056.4618.24%16.81iM Square SAS3.5756.016.38%-3.26Beyond Investing1.8949.803.79%8.99Esoterica-3.7749.10-7.68%27.87Absolute Investment Advisers LLC0.0047.81-0.01%7.09Toews Corp.0.0044.710.00%-4.51Infusive Asset Management0.0044.020.00%5.04Highland Capital Management0.0243.560.04%-9.77Emles Advisors LLC0.0042.080.00%-26.65Premise Capital-5.6139.69-14.12%-13.27Cabot ETF Partners LLC-0.8939.63-2.25%34.22Swan Global Investments3.8735.8210.80%32.72Neil Azous Revocable Trust6.4635.6418.13%14.72Red Gate Advisers LLC2.8033.118.45%5.01Truist1.3929.954.65%7.41ETF Series Solutions1.3029.254.44%2.48MCCM Group LLC-1.9927.95-7.12%36.38Guinness Atkinson Asset Management0.3727.371.36%13.33AlphaMark Advisors0.0026.350.00%-1.41Alger Group Holdings LLC7.4322.0833.65%15.93Inverdale Capital Management LLC5.1221.0224.36%15.53WisdomTree Investments, Inc.0.0018.620.00%18.052nd Vote Value Investments, Inc10.7417.7060.67%11.42Changebridge Capital LLC0.5617.103.25%9.49Gotham Asset Management Holdings12.3915.7778.54%13.41The Leuthold Group LLC-0.7514.28-5.28%0.68GAMCO Investors, Inc.0.9212.677.25%6.46Rayliant Investment Research1.9712.6415.57%10.14Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC0.0011.450.00%-1.20Point Bridge Capital0.8810.768.14%-0.83EquBot0.0010.130.00%3.34Alternative Access Funds LLC0.0010.030.00%0.00Mairs &amp; Power, Inc.2.009.8220.40%9.75Whitford Asset Management6.209.4365.70%6.20Ridgeline Research LLC2.317.8729.39%4.45New Age Alpha Advisors LLC2.836.5243.33%4.77Water Island Capital Partners LP0.006.500.01%0.00Global Beta Advisors0.585.0511.49%-2.99Reflection Asset Management, LLC0.003.270.00%0.59Wilshire Phoenix Funds LLC0.001.780.00%0.00Democracy Investment Management LLC0.641.3049.07%0.64Eaton Vance Corp.0.000.000.00%0.00Disclaimer: All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern time the date the article is published. Data is believed to be accurate; however, transient market data is often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges.





 

 

 [ + Follow ](/etf/login) 

 [ Sumit Roy Senior ETF Analyst ](/authors/sumit-roy) 

 

 

  Sumit Roy is the senior ETF analyst for etf.com and author of (Don't) Invest Like a Pro. He creates a variety of content for the platform, including…   [View Bio](/authors/sumit-roy)

 



 

 


 Related Topics  [Fixed Income](http://www.etf.com/topics/fixed-income) 

 [Equity](http://www.etf.com/topics/equity) 

 [Bond](http://www.etf.com/topics/bond) 

 [Blackrock](http://www.etf.com/topics/blackrock)