2 Factors Fueled $24B Weekly ETF Outflows
Rebalancing and a market correction stem the asset tide.
One week after taking in a whopping $44.7 billion, ETF flows sharply reversed course, ending the latest week with a net outflow of $24.1 billion, according to data from FactSet. Year-to-date inflows are now down to $73.3 billion.
The wild swings in flows were likely due to rebalancing, as fund managers orchestrated large inflows and outflows to wash out low-basis stock positions and potential capital gains. Almost $20 billion of this week's outflows came on Monday alone.
The iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY), the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) were three notable ETFs exhibiting this large inflow/outflow pattern over the past two weeks.
Another noteworthy fund to make an appearance on this week's outflows list was the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV). IVV had net redemptions of $6.6 billion—a rare occurrence for a fund that's steadily accumulated assets and that became the world's second-largest ETF last year.
The underlying S&P 500 plunged by more than 4% this week as President Trump proposed tariffs on $60 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Still, year-to-date inflows for IVV remain in positive territory to the tune of $5.6 billion, which compares well to the $10.1 billion worth of outflows seen in the rival SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and even the $5.2 billion worth of inflows seen in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO).
The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) topped the weekly inflows charts, with $1.4 billion in net creations. Small-caps handily outperformed large-caps this week as trade-war concerns weigh on the latter.
The iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD), the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) were a few other ETFs that saw interest this week, as a drop in interest rates made them more attractive.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield briefly topped 2.93% after Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision to hike interest rates, but then retreated aggressively to last trade at 2.83% as stock markets plunged.
For a full list of this week’s top inflows and outflows, see the tables below:
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
IWM | iShares Russell 2000 ETF | 1,402.74 | 44,403.38 | 3.26% |
LQD | iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 779.13 | 32,053.94 | 2.49% |
GLD | SPDR Gold Trust | 522.38 | 36,125.14 | 1.47% |
XLU | Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund | 468.41 | 7,081.02 | 7.08% |
IEFA | iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF | 359.78 | 56,184.43 | 0.64% |
SHV | iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF | 319.81 | 10,199.51 | 3.24% |
IYR | iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF | 304.35 | 3,615.38 | 9.19% |
XRT | SPDR S&P Retail ETF | 242.97 | 555.49 | 77.74% |
AGG | iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | 234.25 | 54,212.83 | 0.43% |
EWZ | iShares MSCI Brazil ETF | 232.30 | 8,975.33 | 2.66% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | -6,594.81 | 149,583.10 | -4.22% |
DVY | iShares Select Dividend ETF | -3,578.68 | 16,946.11 | -17.44% |
SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | -2,389.70 | 269,928.32 | -0.88% |
SCHD | Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | -2,306.37 | 7,311.48 | -23.98% |
QQQ | PowerShares QQQ Trust | -1,973.80 | 63,727.98 | -3.00% |
VIG | Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF | -1,864.89 | 27,584.91 | -6.33% |
DIA | SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust | -1,269.64 | 21,317.67 | -5.62% |
IJR | iShares Core S&P Small Cap ETF | -1,025.50 | 37,623.74 | -2.65% |
VB | Vanguard Small-Cap ETF | -882.44 | 22,378.70 | -3.79% |
VUG | Vanguard Growth ETF | -778.65 | 33,346.58 | -2.28% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
U.S. Equity | -27,710.15 | 1,958,782.46 | -1.41% |
International Equity | 493.20 | 850,389.59 | 0.06% |
U.S. Fixed Income | 1,604.46 | 520,623.33 | 0.31% |
International Fixed Income | 152.16 | 62,977.30 | 0.24% |
Commodities | 713.30 | 69,779.26 | 1.02% |
Currency | -11.80 | 1,332.52 | -0.89% |
Leveraged | 683.57 | 36,642.60 | 1.87% |
Inverse | 1.24 | 13,672.47 | 0.01% |
Asset Allocation | -69.16 | 8,940.02 | -0.77% |
Alternatives | 8.36 | 4,328.22 | 0.19% |
Total: | -24,134.84 | 3,527,467.79 | -0.68% |
Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM
Ticker | Name | Average Volume (30 Day) | 1 Week Average Volume | % of Average |
KRMA | Global X Conscious Companies ETF | 7,407 | 15,597 | 210.57% |
RLY | SPDR SSgA Multi-Asset Real Return ETF | 29,883 | 61,575 | 206.06% |
PZD | PowerShares Cleantech Portfolio | 13,596 | 30,898 | 227.26% |
GEX | VanEck Vectors Global Alternative Energy ETF | 4,483 | 9,659 | 215.43% |
CCOR | Cambria Core Equity ETF | 18,387 | 60,328 | 328.10% |
RVNU | Xtrackers Municipal Infrastructure Revenue Bond ETF | 14,350 | 22,759 | 158.59% |
DWIN | PowerShares DWA Tactical Multi-Asset Income Portfolio | 30,231 | 54,787 | 181.23% |
DJCI | ETRACS Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return ETN | 3,709 | 5,129 | 138.30% |
DBO | PowerShares DB Oil Fund | 1,411,857 | 1,695,454 | 120.09% |
FLQE | Franklin LibertyQ Emerging Markets ETF | 12,919 | 17,232 | 133.38% |
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.