## [# Big Flows Into Floating Rate ETFs](/sections/news/big-flows-floating-rate-etfs)
# Big Flows Into Floating Rate ETFs
The largest floating-rate ETF hasn't seen a single outflow all year.
[](/contributors/lara-crigger)
[By Lara Crigger](/contributors/lara-crigger)
Aug 13, 2018
Edited by: Lara Crigger
Share Email LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter)
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
googletag.display('js-dfp-tag-article_page_302x26');
});
Loading
[Floating-rate ETFs](https://www.etf.com/topics/floating-rate-etfs) are a tiny corner of the fixed-income ETF market—just 15 ETFs, together representing just 5% of the total assets under management invested in bond ETFs overall. Yet floating-rate ETFs have drawn an outsized proportion of the money flowing into [bond ETFs](https://www.etf.com/topics/fixed-income-etfs) this year.
So far in 2018, investors have poured $57 billion into bond ETFs, of which floating-rate ETFs account for $8.3 billion, or 15%.
That might not sound like much, but the $10.7 billion [iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (FLOT)](https://www.etf.com/flot), which has brought in $4.1 billion in new money year-to-date, hasn't seen a single day of net outflows all year:
In fact, only two bond ETFs have attracted more investor cash than FLOT this year: the [iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF (SHV)](https://www.etf.com/shv), which has brought in $7.3 billion; and the evergreen [iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG)](https://www.etf.com/agg), which has brought in $4.7 billion.
**Big Flows Into FLRN**
FLOT isn't the only floating-rate ETF to see a significant influx of cash in 2018. For example, the $3.7 billion [SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Investment Grade Floating Rate ETF (FLRN)](https://www.etf.com/flRN), which has brought in $2 billion in new net money, has seen only two days of outflows in 2018:
*Charts sources: ETF.com, FactSet; data as of Aug. 9, 2018*
Meanwhile, the $3.3 billion [SPDR Blackstone / GSO Senior Loan ETF (SRLN)](https://www.etf.com/srln) has seen inflows just shy of $1 billion.
**What Is A Floating Rate ETF?**
Floating rate ETFs are funds that track bonds with a variable "coupon," or the annual interest rate paid by the bond issuer to the bond holder, expressed as some percentage of the bond's face value. (This shouldn't be confused with yield, which is the relationship between a bond's coupon and its current market price—read: "[How Do Bond ETFs Work?](https://www.etf.com/etf-education-center/how-do-bond-etfs-work)").
That variable coupon is usually tied to the benchmark interest rates that banks charge each other to lend funds overnight. Typically, that's the Libor or federal funds rate—better known as the "interest rate" that the Federal Reserve can raise or lower at will.
Some variable rate bonds change their coupon (or "reset" it) weekly, while others do it monthly or quarterly.
Because their coupon is flexible, floating-rate ETFs can shield investors significantly from the sting of rising interest rates. So it's only natural that investors would gravitate to these kinds of bond ETFs, as the Fed gradually lifts rates.
Since the post-crisis interest rate hikes began on Dec. 16, 2015, $21.3 billion has flowed into floating-rate ETFs. Roughly one-third of that—$7.2 billion—has gone into FLOT alone, a fund that tracks investment-grade U.S.-dollar-denominated bonds whose coupons are benchmarked to the three-month Libor.
**Different Kinds Of Floating-Rate ETFs**
Floating-rate bonds aren't the only kinds of debt whose interest rates can change.
Senior bank loans, for example, track a specific kind of debt issued by banks that, legally, is considered the highest-priority loan possible. In case of bankruptcy, these loans must be repaid before anything else. Their interest rates often float alongside the Libor, and they tend to offer higher yields than other floating-rate ETFs (read: "[What Kinds Of Bond ETFs Are There?](https://www.etf.com/etf-education-center/what-kinds-bond-etfs-are-there)").
Of the six senior loan ETFs on the market today, the largest is the $7.7 billion [Invesco Senior Loan ETF (BKLN)](https://www.etf.com/BKLN).
Hybrid equity/fixed-income securities, which blend characteristics of both assets, may also carry variable coupons. Preferred stock, for example, is a type of stock that pays dividends to investors, and it can come in a floating-rate version.
The $2.2 billion [Invesco Variable Rate Preferred ETF (VRP)](https://www.etf.com/VRP) is a fund that specifically tracks floating-rate preferred stock.
The 15 floating-rate ETFs are listed in the table below:
Floating-Rate ETFsTickerFundExpense RatioAUM ($M)SpreadYTD Return12 Month ReturnDividend YieldDurationFund Flows YTD ($M)[FLOT](https://www.etf.com/FLOT)[iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF](https://www.etf.com/FLOT)0.20%10,6900.02%1.51%2.07%1.91%0.144,082.24[BKLN](https://www.etf.com/BKLN)[Invesco Senior Loan ETF](https://www.etf.com/BKLN)0.65%7,7300.04%2.22%2.97%3.75%1.66-249.44[FLRN](https://www.etf.com/FLRN)[SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Investment Grade Floating Rate ETF](https://www.etf.com/flrn)0.15%3,6700.03%1.47%2.18%2.03%0.142,002.08[SRLN](https://www.etf.com/SRLN)[SPDR Blackstone / GSO Senior Loan ETF](https://www.etf.com/SRLN)0.70%3,3200.02%2.36%3.45%4.33%--975.97[VRP](https://www.etf.com/VRP)[Invesco Variable Rate Preferred ETF](https://www.etf.com/VRP)0.50%2,2200.07%0.40%-0.12%4.66%--332.38[FTSL](https://www.etf.com/FTSL)[First Trust Senior Loan Fund](https://www.etf.com/FTSL)0.88%1,7400.02%2.31%2.84%3.87%--403.26[SNLN](https://www.etf.com/SNLN)[Highland iBoxx Senior Loan ETF](https://www.etf.com/SNLN)0.55%5750.07%2.84%3.28%4.36%0.1520.06[FLTR](https://www.etf.com/FLTR)[VanEck Vectors Investment Grade Floating Rate ETF](https://www.etf.com/FLTR)0.14%4880.04%1.40%2.31%2.51%0.3250.25[VRIG](https://www.etf.com/VRIG)[Invesco Variable Rate Investment Grade ETF](https://www.etf.com/VRIG)0.30%3730.04%1.21%2.01%4.61%0.25155.85[USFR](https://www.etf.com/USFR)[WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund](https://www.etf.com/usfr)0.15%2100.04%1.23%1.28%1.46%0208.67[TFLO](https://www.etf.com/TFLO)[iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF](https://www.etf.com/TFLO)0.15%1860.03%0.93%1.53%1.39%0.01160.74[PVI](https://www.etf.com/PVI)[Invesco VDRO Tax-Free Weekly ETF](https://www.etf.com/PVI)0.25%620.24%0.69%0.98%-----19.94[FLRT](https://www.etf.com/FLRT)[AdvisorShares Pacific Asset Enhanced Floating Rate ETF](https://www.etf.com/FLRT)1.12%300.70%1.31%1.46%3.36%0.782.47[FLBL](https://www.etf.com/FLBL)[Franklin Liberty Senior Loan ETF](https://www.etf.com/FLBL)0.45%250.22%--------15.07[YESR](https://www.etf.com/YESR)[Amplify YieldShares Senior Loan and Income ETF](https://www.etf.com/YESR)2.30%50.35%2.27%1.39%0.90%0.012.46*Sources: ETF.com, FactSet; data as of Aug. 9, 2018*
**Downside Of Floating-Rate ETFs**
The downside of floating-rate ETFs is that they don't offer earth-shattering yields. The average dividend yield for a floating-rate ETF is currently 2.84%, lower than the yield offered by 140 other fixed-income ETFs.
But rate-shy investors are often willing to sacrifice some yield to lower their exposure to interest rates. As the Fed continues to raise rates, floating-rate ETFs essentially allow investors to keep pace with those changes, rather than always trying to adjust their portfolios from a few steps behind.
*Contact Lara Crigger at *
[ Lara Crigger ](/contributors/lara-crigger)
Lara Crigger is a veteran financial writer with more than twenty years' experience writing about ETFs, markets, and investor education. Formerly… [View Bio](/contributors/lara-crigger)
Related Topics [Bond](http://www.etf.com/topics/bond)
[Fixed Income](http://www.etf.com/topics/fixed-income)
[Investment Grade Bonds](http://www.etf.com/topics/investment-grade-bonds)
[Treasury](http://www.etf.com/topics/treasury)
[Active Management](http://www.etf.com/topics/active-management)