ETFs Add $77B In October

Inflows into U.S.-based ETFs in October amounted to $76.9 billion during the month, making it the third-largest inflow month in the year so far, and just $100 million shy of June for second.

The nearly 30% gain from September is primarily from a rebound in U.S. equity investing, which jumped from $25.5 billion worth of inflows in September to $51.2 billion last month, according to ETF.com data provider FactSet.

The U.S. ETF industry had $6.9 trillion in assets under management as of Oct. 29, placing it within reach of the $7 trillion mark in early November.

Broad Equities, Inflation Play Lead Gainers

U.S. equity funds recovered from a shaky September for stocks to occupy the majority of the top 10 ETFs by inflow for September. Several early beats in the third-quarter earnings season drove the S&P 500 past 4,600 points for the first time in its history, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average sat just below the 36,000 mark in the waning sessions of the month.

The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) was a zero-to-hero leader, going from having the largest outflow in September at almost $3.1 billion to gaining a whopping $9.1 billion in October. That figure is enough to account for nearly 44% of IVV’s entire year-to-date inflows. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was a distant second, with just shy of $4.3 billion in inflows.

Other broad funds that appeared in the month’s top 10 include the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI), which gained a combined $10.2 billion.

Inflation-protected Treasury funds also gained as a sector during the month, as warnings continue to pile up over a snarled supply chain heading into the holiday season, along with shortages of various forms of energy.

The iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP) gained $1.9 billion on the month, while the Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF (SCHP) gained $1.4 billion.

Bonds Sell Off

Fixed income funds saw the largest outflows on the month, as investors retook risk-on positions and feared that inflation would cut further into bottom-scraping yields.

The iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) lost $2.9 billion in assets during the month, followed by the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) , with losses of $1.8 billion and the iShares 1-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (IGSB) with $1.4 billion lost.

A handful of sector-specific ETFs also suffered outflows. The iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF (IYR) lost $574 million, while the iShares Global Tech ETF (IXN) dropped $557 million and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) lost $549 million.

XLI was likely affected by ongoing fears of supply chain issuer, while IYR investors may have been looking to get out of their real estate exposures ahead of the usually mum winter selling season and a potential Federal Reserve rate hike announcement.

For a full list of this month’s top inflows and outflows, see the tables below: 

Top Gainers (October 2021)

Top Gainers (Year-to-Date)

Biggest Losers (October 2021)

Biggest Losers (Year-to-Date)

Asset Classes (October 2021)

Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)

October 2021 ETF Issuer League Table

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.