Poll: Investors 'More Likely' to Buy ETFs Amid Volatile Market
Investors are more likely to invest in ETFs as markets wobble, an etf.com poll finds.
An etf.com poll finds that market volatility isn't turning investors sour on the markets. Instead, it's inspiring them to buy ETFs. Just over 50% of readers polled said market volatility makes them "more likely" to invest in ETFs, compared to just 9% that said they would be less likely.
Source: etf.com poll
Investors Stay the Course
A large number—39%—said that the market's down days aren't impacting their decision to buy, suggesting that many investors are staying the course in their portfolios.
Current market volatility could prove a buying opportunity. Legendary investor Warren Buffett—the Oracle of Omaha—once famously said to get greedy when others are fearful. The ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY) has jumped more than 16% over the past month as broad market funds have remained under pressure.
VIXY tracks the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), also known as the market's "fear gauge."
SPY's Very Bad Week
Last week, the S&P 500 had its worst trading week since September. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) dropped more than 3% from the prior Friday. Investors pulled $3.8 billion from the fund during that same time. Over the past month, the fund's performance has dipped by more than 4% as trade war fatigue and the back-and-forth on tariffs have caused markets to whipsaw.
Despite poll respondents showing that they're more interested in investing in ETFs during market turbulence, fund flows data show that investors at scale haven't yet followed suit.
Total market flows for last week totaled just $11.7 billion, according to etf.com data. The numbers are a large step down from the week prior when investors poured $49.6 billion into ETFs. While investors added more than $4.5 billion to equity ETFs last week, fixed-income ETFs raked in nearly $7.8 billion as uncertainty in the markets caused investors to turn away from risk.
The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) pulled in the most out of any fund on Friday, bringing in just over $1 billion.
