It's official: Investors added the largest sum ever to ETFs during 2020. After all was said and done, a whopping $507.4 billion flowed into U.S.-listed ETFs during the year, topping the previous record of $476.1 billion from 2017. Annual inflows for 2020 were also 55% greater than the $326.3 billion registered in 2019.
Strong performance for asset classes across the board was the fuel that drove investors to plow money into exchange-traded funds at an unprecedented clip. By many measures, investor enthusiasm at the end of 2020 was unlike anything seen in years, and marked a sharp turnaround from the pessimism and despair seen at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March.
The S&P 500 surged 18.4% on the year, while the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index jumped 7.5%.
Certain pockets of the market, from software to biotech to alternative energy, easily outperformed the broader benchmarks, delivering eye-popping gains. The Nasdaq-100 Index rallied 48.9% on the year.
Fixed Income Leads For Second Year
Despite the surge in stocks, somehow U.S. fixed income ETFs managed to attract more buying from ETF investors. U.S. fixed income ETFs as a group picked up $186.4 billion of new money during 2020, outpacing the $165.4 billion picked up by U.S. equity ETFs.
It was the second year in a row in which U.S. fixed income ETF flows beat U.S. equity ETFs flows, and reflects investors' growing use of exchange-traded funds for fixed income exposure. 2020 also marked the first time that the Federal Reserve bought corporate bonds, with the central bank initially using ETFs to stabilize the markets during the panic in March.
The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND), the iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) and the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCIT) each had inflows of more than $14.7 billion during 2020.
Vanguard Reigns Supreme
While U.S. fixed income took the flows crown at the asset class level, it was an equity ETF that topped the flows list for individual ETFs. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) registered inflows of $32.6 billion, pushing its assets under management to more than $200 billion.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) followed behind, each with inflows of more than $16.7 billion.
Meanwhile, the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) and the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) were the most popular international equity ETF and commodity ETF of 2020, respectively, each with inflows of more than $15 billion.
'SPY' Sheds $22 Billion
Though 2020 was an ebullient year, not every ETF attracted inflows. Some high-profile duds included the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM), with outflows of $24.6 billion, $11.8 billion and $4.6 billion, respectively.
Investors also shunned low-vol funds like the iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV) and the Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF (SPLV), both of which found themselves on the top outflows list for the year.
For a full list of 2020's top inflows and outflows, see the tables below:
Top Gainers (December 2020)
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($M) | % of AUM | YTD 2020 Net Flows($,M) |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | Vanguard | 5,424.29 | 200,920.71 | 2.70% | 32,623.27 |
| IEMG | iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | Blackrock | 3,598.98 | 68,609.30 | 5.25% | -563.20 |
| IWM | iShares Russell 2000 ETF | Blackrock | 3,296.57 | 58,757.37 | 5.61% | 2,748.02 |
| ARKK | ARK Innovation ETF | ARK | 3,253.47 | 18,048.41 | 18.03% | 9,492.03 |
| ARKG | ARK Genomic Revolution ETF | ARK | 3,192.49 | 7,885.87 | 40.48% | 5,245.17 |
| BND | Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | Vanguard | 2,437.14 | 68,065.47 | 3.58% | 17,217.83 |
| VXUS | Vanguard Total International Stock ETF | Vanguard | 2,203.37 | 38,568.24 | 5.71% | 16,002.66 |
| BNDX | Vanguard Total International Bond ETF | Vanguard | 1,989.41 | 37,194.53 | 5.35% | 11,929.66 |
| AGG | iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | Blackrock | 1,908.76 | 85,132.94 | 2.24% | 12,475.29 |
| TIP | iShares TIPS Bond ETF | Blackrock | 1,654.90 | 26,307.94 | 6.29% | 3,770.89 |
Top Gainers (Year-to-Date)
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($M) | % of AUM | December 2020 Net Flows($,M) |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | Vanguard | 32,623.27 | 200,920.71 | 16.24% | 5,424.29 |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | Vanguard | 21,431.58 | 176,967.89 | 12.11% | -5,135.00 |
| BND | Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | Vanguard | 17,217.83 | 68,065.47 | 25.30% | 2,437.14 |
| QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust | Invesco | 16,733.95 | 151,436.31 | 11.05% | 312.92 |
| VXUS | Vanguard Total International Stock ETF | Vanguard | 16,002.66 | 38,568.24 | 41.49% | 2,203.37 |
| GLD | SPDR Gold Trust | State Street | 15,129.71 | 71,026.84 | 21.30% | -1,385.31 |
| LQD | iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | Blackrock | 15,020.10 | 55,074.49 | 27.27% | -3,177.06 |
| VCIT | Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF | Vanguard | 14,790.27 | 42,470.51 | 34.82% | 938.78 |
| AGG | iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | Blackrock | 12,475.29 | 85,132.94 | 14.65% | 1,908.76 |
| BNDX | Vanguard Total International Bond ETF | Vanguard | 11,929.66 | 37,194.53 | 32.07% | 1,989.41 |
Biggest Losers (December 2020)
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($M) | % of AUM | YTD 2020 Net Flows($,M) |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | Vanguard | -5,135.00 | 176,967.89 | -2.90% | 21,431.58 |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | State Street | -4,298.34 | 326,894.62 | -1.31% | -24,580.85 |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | Blackrock | -3,778.41 | 237,299.61 | -1.59% | 6,350.44 |
| QUAL | iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | Blackrock | -3,467.86 | 21,481.15 | -16.14% | 2,191.34 |
| LQD | iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | Blackrock | -3,177.06 | 55,074.49 | -5.77% | 15,020.10 |
| HYG | iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | Blackrock | -1,845.05 | 25,719.29 | -7.17% | 5,794.13 |
| DIA | SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust | State Street | -1,815.97 | 24,089.56 | -7.54% | -109.75 |
| IEF | iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF | Blackrock | -1,448.43 | 14,833.75 | -9.76% | -4,466.61 |
| GLD | SPDR Gold Trust | State Street | -1,385.31 | 71,026.84 | -1.95% | 15,129.71 |
| BBEU | JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF | JPMorgan Chase | -1,110.98 | 3,407.90 | -32.60% | -456.78 |
Biggest Losers (Year-to-Date)
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($M) | % of AUM | December 2020 Net Flows($,M) |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | State Street | -24,580.85 | 326,894.62 | -7.52% | -4,298.34 |
| EFA | iShares MSCI EAFE ETF | Blackrock | -11,839.15 | 53,053.45 | -22.32% | 171.84 |
| EEM | iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | Blackrock | -4,624.09 | 28,254.31 | -16.37% | 293.03 |
| USMV | iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF | Blackrock | -4,495.34 | 33,111.17 | -13.58% | -738.05 |
| IEF | iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF | Blackrock | -4,466.61 | 14,833.75 | -30.11% | -1,448.43 |
| IJH | iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF | Blackrock | -4,295.26 | 53,682.06 | -8.00% | 86.11 |
| FLOT | iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF | Blackrock | -4,283.26 | 5,376.60 | -79.66% | -162.29 |
| IWF | iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF | Blackrock | -3,224.78 | 64,299.95 | -5.02% | -287.14 |
| SHV | iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF | Blackrock | -2,942.29 | 17,832.01 | -16.50% | -1,077.43 |
| SPLV | Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF | Invesco | -2,911.14 | 8,118.26 | -35.86% | -471.73 |
Asset Classes (December 2020)
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| U.S. Equity | 13,462.65 | 3,085,507.44 | 0.44% |
| International Equity | 29,955.00 | 1,062,379.37 | 2.82% |
| U.S. Fixed Income | 14,412.20 | 968,811.08 | 1.49% |
| International Fixed Income | 4,752.31 | 123,724.66 | 3.84% |
| Commodities | -789.86 | 143,985.38 | -0.55% |
| Currency | 57.13 | 1,918.11 | 2.98% |
| Leveraged | -1,151.08 | 45,314.10 | -2.54% |
| Inverse | 39.43 | 10,880.72 | 0.36% |
| Asset Allocation | 313.27 | 13,265.64 | 2.36% |
| Alternatives | 151.33 | 5,291.75 | 2.86% |
| Total: | 61,202.38 | 5,461,078.25 | 1.12% |
Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| U.S. Equity | 165,377.22 | 3,085,507.44 | 5.36% |
| International Equity | 72,407.92 | 1,062,379.37 | 6.82% |
| U.S. Fixed Income | 186,387.38 | 968,811.08 | 19.24% |
| International Fixed Income | 25,515.58 | 123,724.66 | 20.62% |
| Commodities | 40,016.74 | 143,985.38 | 27.79% |
| Currency | 562.29 | 1,918.11 | 29.31% |
| Leveraged | 394.29 | 45,314.10 | 0.87% |
| Inverse | 13,510.84 | 10,880.72 | 124.17% |
| Asset Allocation | 2,911.88 | 13,265.64 | 21.95% |
| Alternatives | 359.55 | 5,291.75 | 6.79% |
| Total: | 507,443.68 | 5,461,078.25 | 9.29% |
December 2020 ETF Issuer League Table
| Issuer | Net Flows ($,M) | AUM ($,M) | % of AUM | YTD 2020 Net Flows($,M) |
| Blackrock | 11,664.71 | 2,021,101.37 | 0.58% | 121,293.85 |
| Vanguard | 25,181.46 | 1,504,109.92 | 1.67% | 199,917.58 |
| State Street Global Advisors | -3,530.24 | 841,150.01 | -0.42% | 35,083.09 |
| Invesco | 4,429.18 | 294,440.09 | 1.50% | 20,017.43 |
| Charles Schwab | 3,070.21 | 198,390.09 | 1.55% | 15,703.60 |
| First Trust | 2,007.23 | 110,469.37 | 1.82% | 12,867.84 |
| VanEck | 2,016.00 | 53,705.88 | 3.75% | 5,014.42 |
| ProShares | -750.62 | 46,921.79 | -1.60% | 14,352.92 |
| JPMorgan Chase | 888.00 | 44,981.63 | 1.97% | 12,090.72 |
| WisdomTree | 579.62 | 38,435.95 | 1.51% | -1,227.85 |
| ARK | 8,455.53 | 35,121.95 | 24.07% | 20,446.42 |
| PIMCO | 319.28 | 25,872.75 | 1.23% | 3,502.41 |
| Fidelity | 704.74 | 23,606.93 | 2.99% | 4,045.44 |
| Mirae Asset | 1,697.52 | 20,857.71 | 8.14% | 6,599.60 |
| Deutsche Bank | 448.65 | 20,235.17 | 2.22% | 2,740.80 |
| Direxion | -32.64 | 18,710.10 | -0.17% | 5,197.46 |
| Goldman Sachs | 354.21 | 17,567.82 | 2.02% | 2,161.88 |
| Northern Trust | -139.08 | 14,349.03 | -0.97% | -1,721.97 |
| Franklin Templeton | 83.91 | 8,739.22 | 0.96% | 2,664.76 |
| SS&C | 269.19 | 7,356.76 | 3.66% | -1,157.91 |
| Aberdeen Standard Investments | 71.97 | 6,383.15 | 1.13% | 2,057.19 |
| CICC | -145.00 | 6,180.53 | -2.35% | 1,985.52 |
| Pacer Advisors | 84.38 | 5,757.13 | 1.47% | 76.73 |
| Victory Capital | -9.68 | 5,588.99 | -0.17% | -8.86 |
| ETFMG | 394.58 | 5,578.19 | 7.07% | 1,054.36 |
| Exchange Traded Concepts | 262.47 | 5,516.29 | 4.76% | 2,092.33 |
| John Hancock | 9.04 | 5,006.53 | 0.18% | -205.38 |
| US Commodity Funds | -261.25 | 4,822.58 | -5.42% | 4,696.49 |
| Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | -251.54 | 4,397.39 | -5.72% | -194.37 |
| Innovator | 116.75 | 3,994.39 | 2.92% | 1,418.56 |
| Principal | 2.91 | 3,987.19 | 0.07% | 277.25 |
| Janus Henderson | 174.76 | 3,928.48 | 4.45% | 2,402.92 |
| New York Life | 160.58 | 3,864.62 | 4.16% | 365.41 |
| American Century Investments | 265.86 | 3,815.39 | 6.97% | 2,039.49 |
| The Hartford | 36.98 | 3,716.01 | 1.00% | -327.17 |
| Amplify Investments | 370.83 | 3,129.33 | 11.85% | 1,642.74 |
| US Global Investors | 199.99 | 3,046.57 | 6.56% | 2,302.86 |
| Nuveen Securities | 152.69 | 2,621.00 | 5.83% | 1,271.33 |
| Barclays Capital Inc. | 2.27 | 2,321.38 | 0.10% | -414.62 |
| BMO | 0.00 | 1,982.76 | 0.00% | 647.62 |
| Toroso Investments | 107.40 | 1,536.79 | 6.99% | 901.56 |
| O’Shares Investments | 98.73 | 1,469.35 | 6.72% | 476.37 |
| Prudential | 105.14 | 1,344.54 | 7.82% | 451.83 |
| Vident | -12.11 | 1,343.33 | -0.90% | -296.35 |
| GraniteShares | -13.77 | 1,329.17 | -1.04% | 435.22 |
| Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC | 217.71 | 1,269.50 | 17.15% | 530.54 |
| Davis Advisers | 9.43 | 1,079.91 | 0.87% | 165.09 |
| AdvisorShares | 111.48 | 1,053.64 | 10.58% | 382.85 |
| Defiance ETFs | 165.57 | 1,000.49 | 16.55% | 667.21 |
| Aptus Capital Advisors | 44.48 | 980.41 | 4.54% | 487.63 |
| UBS | -18.89 | 900.28 | -2.10% | -2,138.06 |
| Cambria | -24.14 | 840.74 | -2.87% | 207.04 |
| Virtus Investment Partners | 58.38 | 833.94 | 7.00% | -3.56 |
| Renaissance Capital | 268.62 | 782.32 | 34.34% | 608.36 |
| Transamerica Funds | -4.48 | 752.69 | -0.60% | -63.63 |
| Inspire | 1.36 | 687.77 | 0.20% | 154.31 |
| Credit Suisse Group AG | 35.12 | 670.67 | 5.24% | -1,497.01 |
| EMPIRICAL FINANCE LLC | 10.62 | 655.06 | 1.62% | 133.70 |
| Main Management | 6.87 | 649.06 | 1.06% | 6.94 |
| The Motley Fool | 32.36 | 550.30 | 5.88% | 132.79 |
| Nationwide | 19.87 | 497.61 | 3.99% | 80.31 |
| BNY Mellon | 65.14 | 496.81 | 13.11% | 213.72 |
| Merk | 14.01 | 441.00 | 3.18% | 198.71 |
| Redwood Investment Management | 133.23 | 407.26 | 32.71% | 255.21 |
| Tortoise | 15.89 | 397.35 | 4.00% | -1.49 |
| Timothy Plan | 6.88 | 388.33 | 1.77% | 97.51 |
| Sprott, Inc. | 7.38 | 386.61 | 1.91% | 60.45 |
| Al Marketing LLC | -2.68 | 376.34 | -0.71% | -53.35 |
| TrimTabs | 161.13 | 364.09 | 44.26% | 197.15 |
| WBI | -12.89 | 319.41 | -4.04% | -137.43 |
| Teucrium | -25.61 | 313.08 | -8.18% | 90.17 |
| Liquid Strategies | 4.05 | 290.29 | 1.40% | 156.09 |
| Howard Capital Management | 5.51 | 283.46 | 1.94% | 99.14 |
| Roundhill Investments | 49.09 | 283.17 | 17.34% | 193.06 |
| SRN Advisors | 23.34 | 278.45 | 8.38% | 118.69 |
| ClearShares LLC | -5.01 | 273.68 | -1.83% | 62.78 |
| Regents Park Funds | 14.56 | 255.51 | 5.70% | 142.90 |
| Swedish Export Credit | 12.75 | 233.83 | 5.45% | -20.31 |
| Strategy Shares | 75.28 | 220.12 | 34.20% | 183.39 |
| Distillate Capital | 5.38 | 207.94 | 2.59% | 116.71 |
| EntrepreneurShares, LLC | 2.53 | 191.69 | 1.32% | 27.02 |
| Intangible Capital | 0.03 | 174.06 | 0.02% | 1.34 |
| T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | 24.79 | 149.99 | 16.53% | 76.98 |
| Tuttle Tactical Management, LLC | 17.23 | 148.72 | 11.58% | 128.78 |
| AGF | -18.33 | 145.67 | -12.58% | 53.68 |
| Core Alternative Capital | 0.00 | 138.28 | 0.00% | 25.70 |
| Donald L. Hagan LLC | 4.33 | 137.12 | 3.16% | 113.92 |
| OBP Capital LLC | 10.23 | 126.93 | 8.06% | 53.95 |
| Arrow Funds | 0.00 | 105.91 | 0.00% | -12.50 |
| Simplify Asset Management Inc. | 6.56 | 99.46 | 6.59% | 91.11 |
| Gadsden | 4.95 | 98.19 | 5.04% | 34.42 |
| Cboe Vest Financial LLC | 4.75 | 86.27 | 5.50% | 30.56 |
| Exponential ETFs | 0.96 | 83.77 | 1.15% | 1.31 |
| Wahed Invest LLC | 5.81 | 67.45 | 8.61% | 32.76 |
| Emles Advisors LLC | 4.41 | 66.41 | 6.64% | 48.28 |
| TrueMark Investments | 5.88 | 65.55 | 8.97% | 54.55 |
| Syntax Advisors | 1.39 | 62.29 | 2.23% | -26.12 |
| CornerCap Investment Counsel, Inc. | 4.63 | 59.64 | 7.76% | 54.05 |
| Pacific Life | 0.00 | 57.07 | 0.00% | 0.00 |
| iM Global Partner | -9.69 | 55.09 | -17.58% | 17.58 |
| Metaurus Advisors | 0.46 | 53.02 | 0.86% | 0.46 |
| Highland Capital Management | -3.18 | 52.88 | -6.01% | -213.70 |
| Natixis | -9.29 | 49.81 | -18.64% | -4.38 |
| Premise Capital | -2.25 | 49.35 | -4.55% | 6.07 |
| Toews Corp. | -1.26 | 48.85 | -2.58% | 42.35 |
| ProcureAM | 8.30 | 43.12 | 19.24% | 27.51 |
| Advisors Asset Management | 1.16 | 42.87 | 2.71% | -0.21 |
| Pettee Investors | 0.83 | 40.40 | 2.06% | 26.24 |
| Absolute Investment Advisers LLC | 1.90 | 37.41 | 5.08% | 33.65 |
| Beyond Investing | 1.71 | 36.02 | 4.74% | 18.23 |
| Impact Shares | 0.74 | 35.39 | 2.08% | 18.15 |
| Change Finance | 2.85 | 32.79 | 8.70% | 14.81 |
| AlphaMark Advisors | 0.00 | 23.68 | 0.00% | 0.00 |
| ETF Series Solutions | 0.58 | 23.42 | 2.49% | 8.72 |
| Truist | 4.55 | 20.48 | 22.24% | 17.93 |
| Esoterica | 2.51 | 20.18 | 12.42% | 12.90 |
| Neil Azous Revocable Trust | 0.67 | 19.23 | 3.48% | -1.78 |
| Little Harbor Advisors | -5.49 | 17.73 | -30.97% | 19.22 |
| The Leuthold Group LLC | 0.00 | 12.68 | 0.00% | 11.42 |
| Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC | 0.00 | 12.62 | 0.00% | 12.90 |
| Alternative Access Funds LLC | 0.00 | 10.00 | 0.00% | 9.98 |
| Point Bridge Capital | 0.00 | 9.59 | 0.00% | -4.78 |
| Guinness Atkinson Asset Management | 2.49 | 8.01 | 31.06% | 3.53 |
| Global Beta Advisors | 0.01 | 7.24 | 0.17% | -0.29 |
| Water Island Capital Partners LP | 0.00 | 6.43 | 0.00% | 3.75 |
| EquBot | 0.00 | 6.18 | 0.00% | 1.56 |
| Inverdale Capital Management LLC | 1.97 | 3.31 | 59.64% | 1.97 |
| Grace Partners of Dupage LP | 0.00 | 3.11 | 0.00% | 0.00 |
| Whitford Asset Management | 0.00 | 2.75 | 0.00% | -1.07 |
| Reflection Asset Management, LLC | 0.00 | 2.29 | -0.02% | 2.02 |
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.
