Annual ETF Inflows Break Record Above $289B
After only 8 1/2 months, ETF inflows for 2017 surpass the previous record from 2016.
Stock prices may have hit a road bump this week, but the same can't be said about ETF inflows. Investors added $4.2 billion to U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds during the period, pushing year-to-date inflows to a record $289.4 billion, above 2016's previous annual record of $287.5 billion.
The data, which comes courtesy of FactSet and measures activity in the week ending Thursday, Aug. 17, even showed inflows for U.S. equity ETFs. That segment took in $718 million, despite a 1.5% decline in the S&P 500 on Thursday, the worst drop in three months for the index.
Most other segments also had inflows. International equity ETFs took in $652 million; U.S. fixed-income ETFs took in $1.7 billion; international fixed-income ETFs took in $120 million; and commodity ETFs took in $256 million.
Traders Fade VIX Spike
For the most part, investors continued to load up on broad equity ETFs during the week. ETFs like the Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (SCHB), which had inflows of $701 million, made up most of the top inflows list.
However, one unusual ETF on the list―a fund that made an appearance on last week's top inflows list as well―was the ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY). The ETF, which provides inverse exposure to VIX futures, had inflows of $428 million, suggesting traders were using the recent spike in the VIX to short volatility.
Another standout on the inflows list was the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), with its $352 million worth of creations. Gold prices briefly breached $1,300/oz this week for the first time since November.
Meanwhile, on the outflows side, two standouts were the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE), with redemptions of more than $225 million each.
For a full list of this week's top inflows and outflows, see the tables below:
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| QQQ | PowerShares QQQ Trust | 973.90 | 52,551.44 | 1.89% |
| SCHB | Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF | 701.35 | 10,156.68 | 7.42% |
| ITOT | iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF | 641.42 | 10,737.19 | 6.35% |
| SVXY | ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | 427.73 | 1,340.09 | 46.88% |
| IYR | iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF | 386.18 | 4,645.48 | 9.07% |
| GLD | SPDR Gold Trust | 352.28 | 32,543.89 | 1.09% |
| DIA | SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust | 317.09 | 18,211.93 | 1.77% |
| LQD | iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 289.35 | 38,762.52 | 0.75% |
| MDYV | SPDR S&P 400 Mid Cap Value ETF | 277.92 | 720.34 | 62.82% |
| MDYG | SPDR S&P 400 Mid Cap Growth ETF | 267.89 | 933.32 | 40.26% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | -505.63 | 71,407.66 | -0.70% |
| HYG | iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | -437.11 | 18,734.22 | -2.28% |
| XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | -342.60 | 25,461.01 | -1.33% |
| XLY | Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund | -313.71 | 12,608.47 | -2.43% |
| IWD | iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF | -272.04 | 36,065.12 | -0.75% |
| VXX | iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | -261.18 | 1,055.24 | -19.84% |
| XLE | Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund | -238.65 | 14,395.92 | -1.63% |
| EWJ | iShares MSCI Japan ETF | -213.95 | 16,134.44 | -1.31% |
| VO | Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF | -188.84 | 19,482.46 | -0.96% |
| KRE | SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF | -173.10 | 3,268.61 | -5.03% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| U.S. Equity | 718.28 | 1,690,782.81 | 0.04% |
| International Equity | 652.39 | 703,274.61 | 0.09% |
| U.S. Fixed Income | 1,683.28 | 494,273.45 | 0.34% |
| International Fixed Income | 119.54 | 53,148.11 | 0.22% |
| Commodities | 255.54 | 61,751.54 | 0.41% |
| Currency | 0.00 | 1,396.57 | 0.00% |
| Leveraged | 320.35 | 28,442.12 | 1.13% |
| Inverse | 672.63 | 17,695.08 | 3.80% |
| Asset Allocation | -14.46 | 7,319.92 | -0.20% |
| Alternatives | -206.68 | 3,991.64 | -5.18% |
| Total: | 4,200.87 | 3,062,075.86 | 0.14% |
Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM
| Ticker | Name | Average Volume (30 Day) | 1 Week Average Volume | % of Average |
| HUSE | US Market Rotation Strategy ETF | 32,179 | 123,949 | 385.18% |
| GVAL | Cambria Global Value ETF | 46,721 | 139,273 | 298.10% |
| JPXN | iShares JPX-Nikkei 400 ETF | 3,379 | 10,634 | 314.69% |
| IBDO | iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF | 43,557 | 122,882 | 282.12% |
| ICSH | iShares Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF | 6,876 | 15,866 | 230.74% |
| FNK | First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | 11,909 | 25,156 | 211.24% |
| MLPO | Credit Suisse S&P MLP Index ETN | 39 | 76 | 195.37% |
| FYT | First Trust Small Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | 17,052 | 37,936 | 222.47% |
| DTH | WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund | 18,563 | 45,410 | 244.62% |
| IVLU | iShares Edge MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF | 16,715 | 31,101 | 186.06% |
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.
