Another Trillion-Dollar Year: Gold ETFs Lead $39B Weekly Surge

Investors poured $39.2 billion into U.S.-listed ETFs during the week ending Friday, Oct. 17, pushing year-to-date inflows past $1 trillion. It’s only the second time annual ETF inflows have crossed that milestone—the first being in 2024.

U.S. equity ETFs led the charge with $17.6 billion of inflows, followed by $8 billion into U.S. fixed income ETFs, $5.8 billion into international equity funds, and $5.5 billion into commodities ETFs.

At the top of the heap was the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), which pulled in $4.1 billion. It was a stunning week for gold, which surpassed $4,300 per ounce for the first time ever, bringing year-to-date gains for GLD and other gold ETFs to more than 60%. 

The cheaper SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (GLDM) also made the top 10, with $603 million in inflows.

Following behind GLD were familiar broad U.S. stock ETFs like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), and the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), each of which brought in more than $2.5 billion during the week.

Among international funds, the JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF (BBEU) led with $1.6 billion in inflows, while in fixed income, the iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF (GOVT) topped the list with $1.2 billion. 

The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) also made a rare appearance in the top 10, adding $574 million.

On the outflows side, the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) led with $830 million in redemptions after a pair of regional banks revealed losses linked to fraud, triggering a “sell first, ask questions later” reaction in the group. Regional bank stocks have struggled all year, lagging the broader financial sector.

Other notable outflows included the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), which lost $826 million, and the Xtrackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF (ASHR), down $560 million.

For a full list of last week’s top inflows and outflows, see the tables below.