Bond ETFs See Strong Inflows, But Anxiety Remains
- Investors are flocking to fixed-income ETFs in 2025.
- Most of the money is going to the short end of the yield curve.
Fixed-income ETFs have been a bright spot this year, pulling in $106 billion of the $343 billion total net inflows for U.S.-listed ETFs—roughly 30% of the pie, despite accounting for only 19% of assets.
That’s a striking show of strength for the category, especially given the uncertainty hanging over the Treasury market. Investors have voiced concerns that foreign buyers may be stepping away and that Treasurys haven’t rallied much despite a stock market selloff and rising economic worries.
Bond ETFs Tell the Tale
Those dynamics are particularly evident in the iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF (GOVT), a broad Treasury fund with $27 billion in assets. With a duration of 5.7 years, GOVT is essentially flat on the year, up just 0.2%—a disappointing result considering the broader risk-off sentiment. It’s also seen outflows of $2.9 billion, the fourth-most of any ETF so far in 2025.
The iShares 20+Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) tells a similar story. Despite being up 1.2% year to date, the fund has bled $2.3 billion in outflows. Again, the performance isn’t catastrophic but, in this market, investors seem to be expecting more.
And yet, despite the lukewarm reception for longer-term Treasuries, fixed-income flows overall are booming. That’s largely thanks to insatiable demand for ultra-short-term bond ETFs, cash-like vehicles with minimal risk.
The iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) and the SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) alone have brought in a combined $27 billion this year, making up a full quarter of all fixed-income ETF inflows.
Other ultra-short and floating-rate funds have also seen strong demand. These include the iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF (SHV), the Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF (JAAA), the Vanguard Short-Term TIPS ETF (VTIP), the WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund (USFR) and the JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF (JPST)—all of which have taken in billions.
That doesn’t mean investors are entirely avoiding duration. The iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) has added $2.6 billion in inflows, while the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) has brought in $3.6 billion.
The Bottom Line
The overall pattern is clear: Investors are avoiding interest-rate risk, with most of the money flowing into the corners of the bond market that are most insulated from that risk.
It’s a trend that reflects cautious positioning, something you wouldn’t necessarily notice from just looking at the headline inflow numbers.
