2016 ETF Inflows Set New Record Above $280B

A strong year for ETF inflows finished on a strong note. In the week ending Thursday, Dec. 29, investors added $6.8 billion to U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds, according to FactSet. With only one trading day not included in the count, the 2016 inflows total now stands at $282 billion. That's a record figure and well above the previous annual all-time high of $244 billion set in 2014.

As has been the case in recent weeks, U.S. equity ETFs continued to take in the bulk of inflows. This week, $3.6 billion came into the segment, followed by $1.9 billion into international equity ETFs and $1.8 billion into U.S. fixed-income ETFs. 

International fixed-income ETFs saw a much more modest $28 million of inflows, while commodity ETFs had outflows of $186 million.

In terms of performance, U.S. stocks sold off this week as investors locked in profits from the strong run since the elections. As of this writing, the S&P 500 was up 12% year-to-date, slightly down from its highest level of 13.6%.

Meanwhile, Treasurys rallied in the week, pushing the 10-year bond yield down to 2.44%, compared with this year's high of 2.6% (bond prices and yields move inversely). The 10-year started the year at 2.27%.

HEDJ Regains Some Lost Assets
The ETF taking in the most flows this week was the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM). Its $951 million of flows put it ahead of the No. 2 on the list, the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG), which took in $628 million of its own.

A few sector ETFs also made the weekly top 10. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) had inflows of $481 million and $355 million, respectively.

Also of note was the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (HEDJ). Though it saw the largest outflows of any ETF this year, at $7.8 billion, in the final week of 2016, some investors were bullish on the fund; it took in $261 million. 

SPY Sees Outflows, Still Takes In $22 Billion This Year
In contrast, the ETF that had the largest inflows of the year, at $22.2 billion, saw some outflows in the final week. Investors took out $719 million from the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) in the week ending Dec. 29.

The Vanguard REIT Index Fund (VNQ) took the No. 2 spot on the weekly outflows list, with $363 million in redemptions. A number of other ETFs representing interest-rate-sensitive areas of the market also fell out of favor this week. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) had outflows of $285 million; the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) had outflows of $150 million; and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund (VIG) had outflows of $148 million.

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

Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM

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.