2021 Inflows Near $400B After Strong May

Investors added almost $67 billion to U.S.-listed ETFs during the month.

sumit
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Reviewed by: Sumit Roy
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Edited by: Sumit Roy
With another month in the books, ETF inflows continued at their record pace. Investors added $66.5 billion to their U.S.-listed ETF holdings during the month of May, bringing year-to-date inflows up to $394.8 billion—well ahead of the $121.1 billion seen at this same time a year ago.

Barring a major setback, 2021’s inflows are poised to easily topple last year’s full-year record of $507.4 billion. In fact, if the current pace continues, this year’s inflows could challenge the once-unthinkable $1 trillion level. But that’s a big “if.” There’s a full seven months to go in the year, and the pace of inflows can change rapidly depending on the economic and market environment.

Inflows Evenly Split

Taking a closer look at the data from May, the inflows were fairly evenly split across the various segments. U.S. equity ETFs took in $24.2 billion; international equity ETF pulled in $17.4 billion and U.S. fixed income ETFs gathered $14 billion of fresh cash.

On a year-to-date basis, U.S. equity ETFs are leading, with $181.5 billion of inflows, followed by international equity ETFs with $118.2 billion and U.S. fixed income ETFs with $69.4 billion.

Both U.S. and international stocks held strong in May. The S&P 500 hovered near its all-time high of 4,200, while the MSCI EAFE Index climbed to its best level since 2007.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) and the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) were the top asset gatherers of the month, each with inflows of more than $2.6 billion.

The Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) also saw interest, as value stocks held on to their strong outperformance versus growth stocks for the year. VTV is up 18.5% this year compared to 7% for the Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG).

Investors Shun Low-Vol ETF

On the outflows side of the ledger, notable ETFs with redemptions in May included the iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF (IYR), the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY), the iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV) and the iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF (IHI).

USMV is also among the least popular funds of the year, with $7.4 billion of outflows for 2021 as a whole. It’s joined by the iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) and the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), which have year-to-date outflows of $11.9 billion and $7.1 billion, respectively.

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

 

Top Gainers (May 2021)

Ticker Name Issuer Net Flows ($,mm) AUM ($M) % of AUM YTD 2021 Net Flows($,M)
VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF Vanguard 3,778.32 225,507.49 1.68% 24,153.18
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF Vanguard 2,657.85 243,452.07 1.09% 16,662.99
IEFA iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF Blackrock 2,631.63 96,646.23 2.72% 3,832.93
VTV Vanguard Value ETF Vanguard 2,116.61 81,876.35 2.59% 8,944.21
BBEU JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF JPMorgan Chase 1,982.22 8,497.51 23.33% 4,468.08
BSV Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF Vanguard 1,703.55 34,124.12 4.99% 4,716.69
RSP Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF Invesco 1,569.22 28,617.59 5.48% 6,637.13
GLD SPDR Gold Trust State Street Global Advisors 1,567.17 63,421.66 2.47% -7,070.24
XLV Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund State Street Global Advisors 1,545.74 27,564.63 5.61% -185.08
XLF Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund State Street Global Advisors 1,534.28 44,677.90 3.43% 11,169.56

 

Top Gainers (Year-to-Date)

Ticker Name Issuer Net Flows ($,mm) AUM ($M) % of AUM May 2021 Net Flows($,M)
VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF Vanguard 24,153.18 225,507.49 10.71% 3,778.32
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF Vanguard 16,662.99 243,452.07 6.84% 2,657.85
XLF Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund State Street Global Advisors 11,169.56 44,677.90 25.00% 1,534.28
IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Blackrock 10,915.92 279,437.51 3.91% -797.51
BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF Vanguard 9,240.59 75,115.45 12.30% 1,072.24
VTV Vanguard Value ETF Vanguard 8,944.21 81,876.35 10.92% 2,116.61
IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Blackrock 8,257.20 81,714.28 10.10% 707.49
IUSB iShares Core Total USD Bond Market ETF Blackrock 8,120.02 13,906.23 58.39% 1,188.03
ARKK ARK Innovation ETF ARK 6,987.75 21,354.61 32.72% -135.89
RSP Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF Invesco 6,637.13 28,617.59 23.19% 1,569.22

 

Biggest Losers (May 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 -4,387.60 361,618.96 -1.21% -6,591.72
IYR iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF Blackrock -1,796.58 4,763.25 -37.72% -1,379.08
SDY SPDR S&P Dividend ETF State Street Global Advisors -1,333.54 19,883.66 -6.71% -233.79
USMV iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Blackrock -1,154.14 27,763.32 -4.16% -7,438.53
IHI iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF Blackrock -892.33 7,788.18 -11.46% -1,852.30
IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Blackrock -797.51 279,437.51 -0.29% 10,915.92
IEF iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF Blackrock -721.00 13,096.22 -5.51% -1,074.02
IXN iShares Global Tech ETF Blackrock -669.27 4,653.94 -14.38% -663.45
IWF iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF Blackrock -647.43 65,480.43 -0.99% -2,693.90
ARKW ARK Next Generation Internet ETF ARK -576.25 5,590.25 -10.31% 1,073.77

 

Biggest Losers (Year-to-Date)

Ticker Name Issuer Net Flows ($,mm) AUM ($M) % of AUM May 2021 Net Flows($,M)
LQD iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF Blackrock -11,861.40 41,009.66 -28.92% -372.89
USMV iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Blackrock -7,438.53 27,763.32 -26.79% -1,154.14
GLD SPDR Gold Trust State Street Global Advisors -7,070.24 63,421.66 -11.15% 1,567.17
SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust State Street Global Advisors -6,591.72 361,618.96 -1.82% -4,387.60
TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF Blackrock -4,403.97 12,434.46 -35.42% 163.63
HYG iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Blackrock -3,723.48 22,070.69 -16.87% 540.47
QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF Blackrock -3,207.44 20,467.27 -15.67% -290.24
SHV iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF Blackrock -2,957.39 14,872.76 -19.88% -67.41
IWF iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF Blackrock -2,693.90 65,480.43 -4.11% -647.43
XLP Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund State Street Global Advisors -2,476.75 11,258.53 -22.00% 809.77

 

Asset Classes (May 2021)

  Net Flows ($, mm) AUM ($, mm) % of AUM
U.S. Equity 24,194.38 3,680,181.36 0.66%
International Equity 17,438.66 1,266,776.23 1.38%
U.S. Fixed Income 14,035.20 1,021,722.59 1.37%
International Fixed Income 3,467.13 138,735.58 2.50%
Commodities 5,514.44 147,566.48 3.74%
Currency 46.81 1,803.87 2.59%
Leveraged 805.84 58,131.91 1.39%
Inverse 769.28 11,638.84 6.61%
Asset Allocation -53.86 15,772.82 -0.34%
Alternatives 325.10 6,477.08 5.02%
Total: 66,542.98 6,348,806.75 1.05%

 

Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)

  Net Flows ($, mm) AUM ($, mm) % of AUM
U.S. Equity 181,539.53 3,680,181.36 4.93%
International Equity 118,228.21 1,266,776.23 9.33%
U.S. Fixed Income 69,368.77 1,021,722.59 6.79%
International Fixed Income 17,726.41 138,735.58 12.78%
Commodities -972.09 147,566.48 -0.66%
Currency -102.91 1,803.87 -5.70%
Leveraged 2,374.02 58,131.91 4.08%
Inverse 3,054.66 11,638.84 26.25%
Asset Allocation 1,508.98 15,772.82 9.57%
Alternatives 2,035.35 6,477.08 31.42%
Total: 394,760.93 6,348,806.75 6.22%

 

May 2021 ETF Issuer League Table

Issuer Net Flows ($,M) AUM ($,M) % of AUM YTD 2021 Net Flows($,M)
Blackrock 13,942.16 2,264,617.08 0.62% 76,454.31
Vanguard 25,302.80 1,691,273.23 1.50% 141,076.33
State Street Global Advisors 5,937.76 970,110.78 0.61% 33,715.26
Invesco 5,712.87 341,041.85 1.68% 23,346.77
Charles Schwab 3,589.08 240,339.55 1.49% 19,360.92
First Trust 2,147.58 124,994.23 1.72% 11,001.88
Vanguard Group, Inc. 1,042.78 101,999.57 1.02% 5,150.71
JPMorgan Chase 2,855.73 63,964.39 4.46% 15,138.04
VanEck 825.77 61,872.70 1.33% 4,753.99
ProShares 1,593.69 55,724.06 2.86% 5,125.03
WisdomTree 580.38 44,683.05 1.30% 2,133.39
ARK -1,881.56 43,276.87 -4.35% 15,296.35
Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., Ltd. 1,251.75 32,859.62 3.81% 10,739.98
Fidelity 457.03 28,552.42 1.60% 2,593.61
PIMCO -330.89 26,762.77 -1.24% 907.37
Direxion 289.38 25,450.27 1.14% 1,669.89
Goldman Sachs -281.13 22,966.55 -1.22% -815.04
Deutsche Bank 103.36 21,862.28 0.47% 341.02
Northern Trust 489.22 18,263.40 2.68% 2,154.46
CICC 659.15 10,206.08 6.46% 4,367.89
Franklin Templeton 188.33 9,422.73 2.00% 392.20
SS&C -94.48 9,207.73 -1.03% 254.53
ETFMG 289.41 7,650.63 3.78% 1,394.35
Aberdeen Standard Investments 207.02 7,268.91 2.85% 508.02
Pacer Advisors 356.31 7,193.67 4.95% 800.64
American Century Investments 641.72 6,776.80 9.47% 2,259.68
Exchange Traded Concepts 73.42 6,730.34 1.09% 1,040.45
Victory Capital 42.94 6,431.62 0.67% 109.30
Innovator 182.20 5,133.99 3.55% 864.16
Grace Partners of Dupage LP 29.27 5,118.26 0.57% 548.64
Principal -875.40 5,012.84 -17.46% 745.96
John Hancock -2.32 4,934.16 -0.05% -716.44
US Commodity Funds -87.68 4,565.28 -1.92% -1,729.17
New York Life 80.59 4,416.85 1.82% 362.12
Amplify Investments -214.69 4,388.90 -4.89% 1,101.88
Janus Henderson -6.41 4,157.56 -0.15% 227.53
US Global Investors -8.18 4,123.13 -0.20% 465.57
The Hartford 60.12 4,019.46 1.50% 91.69
Nuveen Securities 30.40 3,814.84 0.80% 863.30
Barclays Capital Inc. -29.26 3,107.14 -0.94% 1,227.56
BMO 62.81 2,640.56 2.38% 311.16
AdvisorShares 31.56 2,271.34 1.39% 1,259.45
Toroso Investments 261.58 2,257.89 11.59% 667.35
Prudential 72.77 1,641.44 4.43% 261.65
GraniteShares 44.48 1,573.87 2.83% 189.30
Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC 26.01 1,557.06 1.67% 288.30
O’Shares Investments -34.63 1,520.53 -2.28% 10.55
Vident -8.66 1,505.69 -0.58% -21.28
Dimensional Holdings 185.27 1,471.70 12.59% 988.98
Defiance ETFs -1.22 1,425.90 -0.09% 341.55
Davis Advisers 17.80 1,334.96 1.33% 91.19
UBS -8.24 1,231.80 -0.67% -44.50
Aptus Capital Advisors 24.72 1,215.95 2.03% 186.15
Virtus Investment Partners -5.39 1,160.18 -0.46% 177.28
Cambria 82.89 1,115.46 7.43% 197.61
Inspire 30.98 956.32 3.24% 133.49
EMPIRICAL FINANCE LLC 27.75 947.07 2.93% 228.77
Main Management 8.71 941.69 0.92% 191.12
Credit Suisse Group AG -35.68 912.21 -3.91% 149.67
BNY Mellon 32.06 809.27 3.96% 258.24
Transamerica Funds 0.00 796.42 0.00% -29.97
Nationwide 41.54 681.57 6.10% 171.36
The Motley Fool 0.04 625.97 0.01% 57.19
Strategy Shares 106.76 613.97 17.39% 388.33
Roundhill Investments -48.51 605.58 -8.01% 273.87
Renaissance Capital -85.50 583.98 -14.64% -129.14
Tortoise -5.52 542.91 -1.02% 35.07
Horizon Kinetics LLC 183.84 536.99 34.23% 509.87
Merk 14.31 493.51 2.90% 50.31
Timothy Plan 6.10 462.82 1.32% 17.26
TrimTabs 1.30 436.72 0.30% 40.90
Sprott, Inc. 0.39 420.99 0.09% 18.15
Teucrium 5.40 398.72 1.35% 11.08
SRN Advisors -0.53 395.27 -0.13% 77.30
Liquid Strategies 32.92 375.64 8.76% 67.90
Simplify Asset Management Inc. 82.91 367.66 22.55% 231.67
Howard Capital Management 13.95 365.33 3.82% 45.34
Distillate Capital 12.43 364.08 3.41% 105.36
Al Marketing LLC -12.85 359.94 -3.57% -32.83
Redwood Investment Management 15.71 349.58 4.50% -106.90
Regents Park Funds 1.88 327.87 0.57% 57.23
WBI 4.95 296.18 1.67% -0.55
Swedish Export Credit 27.60 295.13 9.35% 14.33
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. 21.30 283.17 7.52% 112.41
ClearShares LLC -34.75 278.97 -12.46% 29.58
Tuttle Tactical Management, LLC -17.08 241.24 -7.08% 88.15
OBP Capital LLC 0.00 232.86 0.00% 116.87
Donald L. Hagan LLC 4.85 228.15 2.13% 69.49
Intangible Capital 2.48 189.01 1.31% 2.49
Core Alternative Capital 10.59 184.32 5.74% 34.63
Cboe Vest Financial LLC 27.22 180.69 15.06% 78.84
EntrepreneurShares, LLC -4.56 172.31 -2.65% -2.61
Little Harbor Advisors 7.67 154.73 4.96% 89.89
Cavalier16 3.19 152.94 2.08% 3.19
State Street Global Advisors Limited -9.08 152.38 -5.96% 114.13
TrueMark Investments 9.08 132.07 6.88% 57.54
ProcureAM -6.58 127.51 -5.16% 74.92
Gadsden 5.92 120.99 4.90% 15.84
Syntax Advisors 1.63 120.12 1.36% 21.41
Arrow Funds 0.00 113.33 0.00% 0.56
Wahed Invest LLC 7.26 109.41 6.63% 35.51
AGF -2.48 102.89 -2.42% -17.62
CornerCap Investment Counsel, Inc. -0.39 102.55 -0.38% 27.08
Kingsview Partners LLC 9.86 96.63 10.20% 90.09
Wainwright, Inc. 9.94 90.67 10.96% 80.23
Exponential ETFs 0.00 77.49 0.00% -0.08
Advisors Asset Management 12.72 74.49 17.08% 23.63
iM Square SAS 15.18 71.98 21.10% 11.93
Pettee Investors 1.03 71.84 1.44% 18.79
Humankind USA LLC 4.08 71.27 5.72% 63.86
Change Finance 4.66 66.74 6.98% 28.51
Natixis -0.27 64.31 -0.41% 10.14
Metaurus Advisors 0.01 61.70 0.01% 3.45
Impact Shares 1.58 59.03 2.68% 19.19
Pacific Life 0.00 57.21 0.00% -0.11
Beyond Investing 5.63 54.90 10.25% 14.62
Absolute Investment Advisers LLC 0.00 49.35 0.00% 7.09
Swan Global Investments 13.44 49.24 27.30% 46.16
Esoterica -0.04 46.47 -0.08% 27.83
Infusive Asset Management 1.72 45.27 3.81% 6.76
Gotham Asset Management Holdings 0.00 44.84 0.00% 42.35
Highland Capital Management 0.00 43.64 0.01% -9.77
Emles Advisors LLC 0.74 43.13 1.72% -25.91
Toews Corp. -2.51 42.65 -5.89% -6.39
Premise Capital 0.00 39.92 0.00% -13.27
Neil Azous Revocable Trust 2.92 39.08 7.47% 17.64
Cabot ETF Partners LLC -0.25 35.34 -0.71% 33.96
Alger Group Holdings LLC 13.71 34.88 39.31% 29.65
Red Gate Advisers LLC 0.00 33.29 0.00% 5.01
ETF Series Solutions 1.36 31.38 4.33% 3.84
Inverdale Capital Management LLC 5.27 27.64 19.06% 21.68
Guinness Atkinson Asset Management 0.30 26.92 1.11% 13.63
AlphaMark Advisors 0.00 26.52 0.00% -1.41
MCCM Group LLC -2.29 24.63 -9.28% 34.10
Whitford Asset Management 13.87 23.94 57.96% 20.07
2nd Vote Value Investments, Inc 3.81 23.23 16.41% 16.73
WisdomTree Investments, Inc. 3.05 22.29 13.69% 21.10
Truist -7.32 21.25 -34.43% 0.10
Rayliant Investment Research 3.45 18.13 19.04% 14.93
Formidable Asset Management 16.21 17.68 91.67% 16.83
Changebridge Capital LLC 0.29 16.78 1.70% 9.78
The Leuthold Group LLC 0.75 15.14 4.96% 1.43
GAMCO Investors, Inc. 0.81 13.52 5.98% 7.27
Point Bridge Capital 0.91 11.97 7.64% 0.08
Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC 0.00 11.42 0.00% -1.20
EquBot 1.48 11.28 13.16% 4.82
Mairs & Power, Inc. 1.26 11.08 11.34% 11.01
Ridgeline Research LLC 2.31 10.29 22.49% 6.77
Alternative Access Funds LLC 0.00 10.02 0.00% 0.00
New Age Alpha Advisors LLC 2.17 8.79 24.65% 6.93
Water Island Capital Partners LP 0.00 6.51 0.01% 0.00
Global Beta Advisors 0.00 5.13 0.00% -2.99
Uncommon Investment Advisors LLC 3.26 4.32 75.58% 3.76
Applied Finance Group 2.49 3.74 66.42% 2.49
Reflection Asset Management, LLC 0.00 3.31 -0.01% 0.59
ASYMmetric ETFs 0.80 2.39 33.44% 2.30
Wilshire Phoenix Funds LLC 0.00 1.89 0.00% 0.00
Democracy Investment Management LLC 0.00 1.32 0.02% 0.64
Eaton Vance Corp. 0.00 0.00 0.00% 0.00
Tuttle Capital Management LLC 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.

Sumit Roy is the senior ETF analyst for etf.com, where he's worked for 12 years. Before joining the company, Roy was the managing editor and commodities analyst for Hard Assets Investor. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he enjoys climbing the city’s steep hills, playing pickleball and snowboarding.