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.
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&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), the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and the Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Index ETF (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 $2.1 billion pulled from the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT). The fund has struggled this year, losing 12% of its value as rates have jumped. In its April FOMC meeting, the Fed remained committed to keeping its benchmark rate near zero and its asset purchases at their current levels.
But many investors believe the central bank will start to pare back its stimulus measures if the economy keeps booming. TLT is among the most interest-rate-sensitive bond ETFs, making it particularly vulnerable to a rate spike.
Joining TLT on the top outflows list for April were the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), the ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) and the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD).
For a full list of the top inflows and outflows for April and 2021 as a whole, see the tables below:
Top Gainers (April 2021)
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($M) | % of AUM | YTD 2021 Net Flows($,M) |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | Vanguard | 4,176.79 | 240,609.77 | 1.74% | 13,920.91 |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | Vanguard | 3,219.85 | 220,344.19 | 1.46% | 20,291.96 |
| VGSH | Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Index ETF | Vanguard | 2,401.25 | 12,554.09 | 19.13% | 2,736.67 |
| BND | Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | Vanguard | 2,363.86 | 73,844.35 | 3.20% | 8,032.17 |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | Blackrock | 2,217.00 | 277,912.32 | 0.80% | 10,975.70 |
| VTV | Vanguard Value ETF | Vanguard | 2,161.71 | 77,272.50 | 2.80% | 6,803.47 |
| AGG | iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | Blackrock | 2,068.09 | 86,948.47 | 2.38% | 4,458.64 |
| SCHD | Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | Charles Schwab | 1,788.70 | 23,465.61 | 7.62% | 4,411.23 |
| GOVT | iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF | Blackrock | 1,759.38 | 16,198.56 | 10.86% | 2,175.61 |
| BBEU | JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF | JPMorgan Chase | 1,655.06 | 6,313.26 | 26.22% | 2,485.87 |
Top Gainers (Year-to-Date)
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($M) | % of AUM | April 2021 Net Flows($,M) |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | Vanguard | 20,291.96 | 220,344.19 | 9.21% | 3,219.85 |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | Vanguard | 13,920.91 | 240,609.77 | 5.79% | 4,176.79 |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | Blackrock | 10,975.70 | 277,912.32 | 3.95% | 2,217.00 |
| XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | State Street Global Advisors | 9,381.04 | 40,563.04 | 23.13% | 274.49 |
| BND | Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | Vanguard | 8,032.17 | 73,844.35 | 10.88% | 2,363.86 |
| IEMG | iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | Blackrock | 7,549.71 | 81,272.05 | 9.29% | 115.55 |
| ARKK | ARK Innovation ETF | ARK | 7,513.60 | 24,427.34 | 30.76% | 1,029.67 |
| IUSB | iShares Core Total USD Bond Market ETF | Blackrock | 6,889.61 | 12,654.39 | 54.44% | 492.00 |
| VTV | Vanguard Value ETF | Vanguard | 6,803.47 | 77,272.50 | 8.80% | 2,161.71 |
| XLE | Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund | State Street Global Advisors | 5,198.19 | 23,548.29 | 22.07% | 643.81 |
Biggest Losers (April 2021)
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($M) | % of AUM | YTD 2021 Net Flows($,M) |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | State Street Global Advisors | -2,601.40 | 360,922.32 | -0.72% | -5,395.78 |
| IWM | iShares Russell 2000 ETF | Blackrock | -2,531.21 | 68,839.81 | -3.68% | 385.59 |
| TLT | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | Blackrock | -2,099.89 | 12,487.27 | -16.82% | -4,360.12 |
| TQQQ | ProShares UltraPro QQQ | ProShares | -1,489.00 | 11,777.55 | -12.64% | 127.94 |
| GLD | SPDR Gold Trust | State Street Global Advisors | -1,120.69 | 57,930.86 | -1.93% | -8,637.41 |
| SHV | iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF | Blackrock | -952.61 | 14,964.55 | -6.37% | -2,866.77 |
| XLP | Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund | State Street Global Advisors | -823.07 | 10,197.15 | -8.07% | -3,255.24 |
| USMV | iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF | Blackrock | -688.03 | 28,675.20 | -2.40% | -6,269.97 |
| MBB | iShares MBS ETF | Blackrock | -661.14 | 25,788.17 | -2.56% | 832.49 |
| EWY | iShares MSCI South Korea ETF | Blackrock | -625.57 | 7,293.01 | -8.58% | -546.42 |
Biggest Losers (Year-to-Date)
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($M) | % of AUM | April 2021 Net Flows($,M) |
| LQD | iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | Blackrock | -11,030.51 | 41,647.98 | -26.49% | -592.98 |
| GLD | SPDR Gold Trust | State Street Global Advisors | -8,637.41 | 57,930.86 | -14.91% | -1,120.69 |
| USMV | iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF | Blackrock | -6,269.97 | 28,675.20 | -21.87% | -688.03 |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | State Street Global Advisors | -5,395.78 | 360,922.32 | -1.49% | -2,601.40 |
| TLT | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | Blackrock | -4,360.12 | 12,487.27 | -34.92% | -2,099.89 |
| HYG | iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | Blackrock | -4,185.35 | 21,649.41 | -19.33% | 435.88 |
| XLP | Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund | State Street Global Advisors | -3,255.24 | 10,197.15 | -31.92% | -823.07 |
| QUAL | iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | Blackrock | -2,872.20 | 20,568.67 | -13.96% | 17.46 |
| SHV | iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF | Blackrock | -2,866.77 | 14,964.55 | -19.16% | -952.61 |
| JNK | SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF | State Street Global Advisors | -2,115.45 | 10,427.10 | -20.29% | -1.71 |
Asset Classes (April 2021)
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| U.S. Equity | 31,819.44 | 3,640,649.31 | 0.87% |
| International Equity | 17,381.23 | 1,240,730.21 | 1.40% |
| U.S. Fixed Income | 22,347.68 | 1,004,146.78 | 2.23% |
| International Fixed Income | 4,285.64 | 134,655.28 | 3.18% |
| Commodities | -841.93 | 133,740.16 | -0.63% |
| Currency | -134.71 | 1,767.41 | -7.62% |
| Leveraged | -2,145.22 | 57,543.09 | -3.73% |
| Inverse | 425.68 | 10,851.46 | 3.92% |
| Asset Allocation | 590.73 | 15,624.58 | 3.78% |
| Alternatives | 520.29 | 6,318.87 | 8.23% |
| Total: | 74,248.83 | 6,246,027.16 | 1.19% |
Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| U.S. Equity | 152,159.37 | 3,640,649.31 | 4.18% |
| International Equity | 100,042.18 | 1,240,730.21 | 8.06% |
| U.S. Fixed Income | 53,663.03 | 1,004,146.78 | 5.34% |
| International Fixed Income | 13,952.75 | 134,655.28 | 10.36% |
| Commodities | -6,591.19 | 133,740.16 | -4.93% |
| Currency | -129.29 | 1,767.41 | -7.32% |
| Leveraged | 1,526.28 | 57,543.09 | 2.65% |
| Inverse | 2,340.90 | 10,851.46 | 21.57% |
| Asset Allocation | 1,592.80 | 15,624.58 | 10.19% |
| Alternatives | 1,741.24 | 6,318.87 | 27.56% |
| Total: | 320,298.07 | 6,246,027.16 | 5.13% |
April 2021 ETF Issuer League Table
| Issuer | Net Flows ($,M) | AUM ($,M) | % of AUM | YTD 2021 Net Flows($,M) |
| Blackrock | 17,561.80 | 2,238,851.76 | 0.78% | 61,537.30 |
| Vanguard | 28,462.53 | 1,658,653.83 | 1.72% | 114,120.41 |
| State Street Global Advisors | 5,562.84 | 949,398.00 | 0.59% | 23,979.75 |
| Invesco | 1,870.45 | 337,574.29 | 0.55% | 18,169.35 |
| Charles Schwab | 4,988.53 | 234,892.65 | 2.12% | 15,707.24 |
| First Trust | 2,373.78 | 123,073.83 | 1.93% | 8,684.38 |
| Vanguard Group, Inc. | 1,197.17 | 98,564.87 | 1.21% | 3,708.83 |
| JPMorgan Chase | 2,881.68 | 60,229.39 | 4.78% | 12,167.21 |
| Van Eck Associates Corp. | 1,351.94 | 58,432.22 | 2.31% | 3,867.60 |
| ProShares | -781.30 | 54,708.81 | -1.43% | 3,507.15 |
| ARK | 1,562.25 | 50,560.29 | 3.09% | 17,612.69 |
| WisdomTree | 217.07 | 43,720.24 | 0.50% | 1,514.51 |
| Mirae Asset | 1,738.84 | 31,647.59 | 5.49% | 9,382.29 |
| Fidelity | 626.37 | 28,183.06 | 2.22% | 2,129.13 |
| PIMCO | 555.62 | 27,082.91 | 2.05% | 1,246.43 |
| Direxion | -761.57 | 24,797.54 | -3.07% | 1,395.29 |
| Goldman Sachs | -186.07 | 23,143.81 | -0.80% | -533.91 |
| Deutsche Bank | 202.17 | 21,461.84 | 0.94% | 197.59 |
| Northern Trust | 422.11 | 17,508.87 | 2.41% | 1,654.60 |
| CICC | 1,162.74 | 9,854.52 | 11.80% | 3,624.38 |
| Franklin Templeton | 166.72 | 9,180.69 | 1.82% | 200.64 |
| SS&C | -1.50 | 9,145.98 | -0.02% | 346.20 |
| ETFMG | 123.26 | 7,408.16 | 1.66% | 1,103.76 |
| Exchange Traded Concepts | 85.35 | 6,841.99 | 1.25% | 963.98 |
| Aberdeen Standard Investments | 31.63 | 6,835.35 | 0.46% | 295.97 |
| Pacer Advisors | 176.61 | 6,703.53 | 2.63% | 364.93 |
| Victory Capital | -184.27 | 6,319.42 | -2.92% | 76.53 |
| American Century Investments | 514.91 | 6,037.71 | 8.53% | 1,602.77 |
| Grace Partners of Dupage LP | 47.51 | 5,080.39 | 0.94% | 519.37 |
| Innovator | 204.06 | 4,941.81 | 4.13% | 662.23 |
| John Hancock | 49.96 | 4,938.67 | 1.01% | -714.12 |
| Amplify Investments | 126.41 | 4,873.81 | 2.59% | 1,317.51 |
| Principal | 440.29 | 4,831.58 | 9.11% | 590.32 |
| US Commodity Funds | -165.06 | 4,476.75 | -3.69% | -1,635.77 |
| New York Life | -272.82 | 4,319.75 | -6.32% | 278.17 |
| Janus Henderson | 10.57 | 4,172.48 | 0.25% | 233.94 |
| US Global Investors | -36.19 | 3,986.92 | -0.91% | 473.75 |
| The Hartford | -22.90 | 3,907.08 | -0.59% | 31.56 |
| Nuveen Securities | 148.72 | 3,795.01 | 3.92% | 829.15 |
| Barclays Capital Inc. | 401.35 | 3,258.81 | 12.32% | 1,302.25 |
| BMO | 0.00 | 2,738.29 | 0.00% | 248.36 |
| AdvisorShares | 42.46 | 2,266.30 | 1.87% | 1,224.79 |
| Toroso Investments | -20.20 | 1,979.21 | -1.02% | 406.27 |
| O’Shares Investments | -0.12 | 1,595.42 | -0.01% | 45.18 |
| Prudential | 73.69 | 1,557.98 | 4.73% | 178.91 |
| Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC | 52.51 | 1,521.98 | 3.45% | 256.96 |
| Vident | -3.13 | 1,499.37 | -0.21% | -3.91 |
| GraniteShares | 38.76 | 1,453.15 | 2.67% | 144.06 |
| Defiance ETFs | 69.55 | 1,431.96 | 4.86% | 344.72 |
| Davis Advisers | 13.36 | 1,332.99 | 1.00% | 71.60 |
| Dimensional Holdings | 174.76 | 1,265.37 | 13.81% | 794.78 |
| Aptus Capital Advisors | 45.65 | 1,188.02 | 3.84% | 160.60 |
| Virtus Investment Partners | 83.55 | 1,148.78 | 7.27% | 180.24 |
| UBS | -13.56 | 1,071.25 | -1.27% | -36.26 |
| Cambria | -11.31 | 1,015.36 | -1.11% | 114.72 |
| Credit Suisse Group AG | 41.94 | 949.42 | 4.42% | 183.52 |
| EMPIRICAL FINANCE LLC | 15.50 | 939.21 | 1.65% | 208.59 |
| Main Management | 27.38 | 929.28 | 2.95% | 182.42 |
| Inspire | 23.16 | 911.16 | 2.54% | 100.61 |
| Transamerica Funds | 0.00 | 792.55 | 0.00% | -29.97 |
| BNY Mellon | 41.70 | 778.02 | 5.36% | 226.18 |
| Renaissance Capital | -41.67 | 698.15 | -5.97% | -53.07 |
| Roundhill Investments | -20.08 | 671.98 | -2.99% | 322.38 |
| Nationwide | 22.32 | 647.26 | 3.45% | 129.81 |
| The Motley Fool | 0.95 | 645.88 | 0.15% | 57.14 |
| Tortoise | 26.14 | 526.45 | 4.97% | 40.58 |
| Strategy Shares | 102.49 | 503.72 | 20.35% | 279.04 |
| Timothy Plan | 7.66 | 451.98 | 1.69% | 11.16 |
| Merk | 0.03 | 448.62 | 0.01% | 35.91 |
| TrimTabs | 53.49 | 436.25 | 12.26% | 39.60 |
| SRN Advisors | 14.89 | 403.83 | 3.69% | 77.84 |
| Teucrium | -12.62 | 389.05 | -3.24% | 5.69 |
| Sprott, Inc. | -2.99 | 382.95 | -0.78% | 17.77 |
| Al Marketing LLC | -2.40 | 370.83 | -0.65% | -19.98 |
| Howard Capital Management | 12.10 | 355.34 | 3.40% | 31.39 |
| Distillate Capital | 10.98 | 346.12 | 3.17% | 92.93 |
| Liquid Strategies | 13.17 | 341.13 | 3.86% | 35.71 |
| Horizon Kinetics LLC | 184.05 | 331.63 | 55.50% | 311.47 |
| Regents Park Funds | 24.89 | 325.73 | 7.64% | 55.35 |
| Redwood Investment Management | -34.11 | 325.36 | -10.48% | -125.44 |
| ClearShares LLC | 34.68 | 312.76 | 11.09% | 34.65 |
| WBI | -6.78 | 304.12 | -2.23% | -42.64 |
| Swedish Export Credit | 21.86 | 287.81 | 7.59% | 9.06 |
| Simplify Asset Management Inc. | 7.52 | 275.13 | 2.73% | 143.46 |
| T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | 24.54 | 263.44 | 9.32% | 91.11 |
| Tuttle Tactical Management, LLC | -15.73 | 259.66 | -6.06% | 105.23 |
| OBP Capital LLC | 1.31 | 244.00 | 0.54% | 116.87 |
| Donald L. Hagan LLC | 38.10 | 221.61 | 17.19% | 64.64 |
| EntrepreneurShares, LLC | -1.27 | 188.45 | -0.67% | 1.96 |
| Intangible Capital | 0.00 | 185.52 | 0.00% | -0.02 |
| Core Alternative Capital | 7.25 | 169.24 | 4.28% | 24.04 |
| Little Harbor Advisors | 14.38 | 149.03 | 9.65% | 82.22 |
| Cboe Vest Financial LLC | 34.09 | 146.58 | 23.25% | 48.95 |
| ProcureAM | -2.99 | 133.31 | -2.24% | 81.50 |
| TrueMark Investments | 9.48 | 122.99 | 7.70% | 47.76 |
| Syntax Advisors | 0.00 | 116.80 | 0.00% | 19.79 |
| Gadsden | 1.29 | 112.93 | 1.14% | 9.92 |
| Arrow Funds | 0.00 | 112.50 | 0.00% | 0.56 |
| AGF | 2.99 | 107.01 | 2.80% | -15.13 |
| Wahed Invest LLC | 8.20 | 102.85 | 7.98% | 28.25 |
| CornerCap Investment Counsel, Inc. | -0.01 | 100.58 | -0.01% | 27.47 |
| Exponential ETFs | -0.29 | 96.84 | -0.30% | 1.20 |
| Kingsview Partners LLC | 5.74 | 85.94 | 6.68% | 80.23 |
| Wainwright, Inc. | 54.16 | 75.44 | 71.79% | 70.30 |
| Pettee Investors | 7.84 | 70.31 | 11.15% | 17.76 |
| Humankind USA LLC | 9.31 | 66.75 | 13.95% | 59.78 |
| Natixis | 3.80 | 64.11 | 5.92% | 10.41 |
| Change Finance | 6.23 | 62.60 | 9.95% | 23.85 |
| Metaurus Advisors | 0.98 | 61.87 | 1.58% | 3.45 |
| Advisors Asset Management | 0.21 | 59.14 | 0.35% | 9.52 |
| Pacific Life | -0.11 | 57.15 | -0.19% | -0.11 |
| Impact Shares | 10.30 | 56.46 | 18.24% | 16.81 |
| iM Square SAS | 3.57 | 56.01 | 6.38% | -3.26 |
| Beyond Investing | 1.89 | 49.80 | 3.79% | 8.99 |
| Esoterica | -3.77 | 49.10 | -7.68% | 27.87 |
| Absolute Investment Advisers LLC | 0.00 | 47.81 | -0.01% | 7.09 |
| Toews Corp. | 0.00 | 44.71 | 0.00% | -4.51 |
| Infusive Asset Management | 0.00 | 44.02 | 0.00% | 5.04 |
| Highland Capital Management | 0.02 | 43.56 | 0.04% | -9.77 |
| Emles Advisors LLC | 0.00 | 42.08 | 0.00% | -26.65 |
| Premise Capital | -5.61 | 39.69 | -14.12% | -13.27 |
| Cabot ETF Partners LLC | -0.89 | 39.63 | -2.25% | 34.22 |
| Swan Global Investments | 3.87 | 35.82 | 10.80% | 32.72 |
| Neil Azous Revocable Trust | 6.46 | 35.64 | 18.13% | 14.72 |
| Red Gate Advisers LLC | 2.80 | 33.11 | 8.45% | 5.01 |
| Truist | 1.39 | 29.95 | 4.65% | 7.41 |
| ETF Series Solutions | 1.30 | 29.25 | 4.44% | 2.48 |
| MCCM Group LLC | -1.99 | 27.95 | -7.12% | 36.38 |
| Guinness Atkinson Asset Management | 0.37 | 27.37 | 1.36% | 13.33 |
| AlphaMark Advisors | 0.00 | 26.35 | 0.00% | -1.41 |
| Alger Group Holdings LLC | 7.43 | 22.08 | 33.65% | 15.93 |
| Inverdale Capital Management LLC | 5.12 | 21.02 | 24.36% | 15.53 |
| WisdomTree Investments, Inc. | 0.00 | 18.62 | 0.00% | 18.05 |
| 2nd Vote Value Investments, Inc | 10.74 | 17.70 | 60.67% | 11.42 |
| Changebridge Capital LLC | 0.56 | 17.10 | 3.25% | 9.49 |
| Gotham Asset Management Holdings | 12.39 | 15.77 | 78.54% | 13.41 |
| The Leuthold Group LLC | -0.75 | 14.28 | -5.28% | 0.68 |
| GAMCO Investors, Inc. | 0.92 | 12.67 | 7.25% | 6.46 |
| Rayliant Investment Research | 1.97 | 12.64 | 15.57% | 10.14 |
| Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC | 0.00 | 11.45 | 0.00% | -1.20 |
| Point Bridge Capital | 0.88 | 10.76 | 8.14% | -0.83 |
| EquBot | 0.00 | 10.13 | 0.00% | 3.34 |
| Alternative Access Funds LLC | 0.00 | 10.03 | 0.00% | 0.00 |
| Mairs & Power, Inc. | 2.00 | 9.82 | 20.40% | 9.75 |
| Whitford Asset Management | 6.20 | 9.43 | 65.70% | 6.20 |
| Ridgeline Research LLC | 2.31 | 7.87 | 29.39% | 4.45 |
| New Age Alpha Advisors LLC | 2.83 | 6.52 | 43.33% | 4.77 |
| Water Island Capital Partners LP | 0.00 | 6.50 | 0.01% | 0.00 |
| Global Beta Advisors | 0.58 | 5.05 | 11.49% | -2.99 |
| Reflection Asset Management, LLC | 0.00 | 3.27 | 0.00% | 0.59 |
| Wilshire Phoenix Funds LLC | 0.00 | 1.78 | 0.00% | 0.00 |
| Democracy Investment Management LLC | 0.64 | 1.30 | 49.07% | 0.64 |
| Eaton Vance Corp. | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00% | 0.00 |
Disclaimer: 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.
