2022 ETF Inflows Slumped Amid Market Rout

Volatile markets and a hawkish Federal Reserve took their toll on exchange-traded funds last year, as investors added 32% less to ETFs than they did the year before.  

ETFs brought in $614 billion in 2022 compared with the record $900 billion the year prior, according to ETF.com data. Soaring interest rates, inflation at 40-year highs and geopolitical turmoil battered investor sentiment and pulled markets down.  

The S&P 500 notched a nearly 20% annual loss—its worst since 2008—while the Nasdaq tumbled 33%. Meanwhile, bonds endured their worst year in history. 

Still, the $614 billion was the second-best year of inflows to date for ETFs, as gyrating markets caused investors to flock to passively managed vehicles. Comparatively, mutual funds, through mid-December, shed over $950 billion, according to Bloomberg data, trumping the $13 billion that exited last year and marking the greatest outflow on record. Some of that money has moved to ETFs. 

Fixed income funds emerged as a bright spot for the year, as the asset class’ inflows rose 8% from the previous year to $189 billion as investors wagered fixed income would be a safer haven over equities.

Funds pulling in big sums of investor money included the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) and the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), which collectively posted $29 billion in gains last year.  

Equity funds totals dropped 38%, falling to almost $285 billion from 2021’s $461 billion. Funds bringing in the most money included the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) and the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), which collectively brought in nearly $88 billion, according to ETF.com data.  

On the other side of the ledger, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), the largest U.S.-listed ETF, shed $12 billion last year, according to ETF.com data.  

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

Top Gainers (Year-to-Date)

Biggest Losers (Year-to-Date)

Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)

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.