Big Bet On Low Vol ETF 'SPLV'
Investors added nearly $12 billion to U.S.-listed ETFs this week.
Inflows into ETFs continued to chug along at a steady pace this week as markets consolidated. About $11.6 billion entered U.S.-listed ETFs during the week ending Thursday, May 20, bringing year-to-date inflows up to $369.4 billion. That compares favorably with the $131 billion that flowed into ETFs by this same time a year ago.
This week, U.S. fixed income ETFs took the lead, with creations of $5.3 billion. That was followed by the $3.4 billion and $1.1 billion that went into international equity ETFs and U.S. equity ETFs, respectively.
After an early-week dip in prices, stocks rebounded thanks to a resurgence in the beaten-down high-growth areas of the market. Funds like the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) and the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) bounced notably off their lows of last week as investors scoured for bargains.
That said, those names didn’t make an appearance on the top inflows list of the week. Rather, ETF investors continued to focus their firepower on the cheaper areas of the market that have been working for most of 2021.
The Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF (SPLV), the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) and the JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF (BBEU) each made the top 10 weekly inflows list.
SPLV’s inflows in particular were noteworthy, pushing assets in the fund to their highest level since March 2020. Consumer staples and health care—two noncyclical sectors—make up nearly half of SPLV’s low-vol portfolio.
Outflows For ‘QQQ’
On the other hand, despite the rebound in prices, ETF investors lightened up on some of their “growthier” funds. The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) and the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) each had outflows of more than $250 million during the week.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) finished the week with the largest outflow—$9.3 billion. This is the fourth year in a row in which SPY has seen net outflows.
For a full list of this week’s top inflows and outflows, see the tables below:
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
SPLV | Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF | 2,094.52 | 10,036.20 | 20.87% |
IWM | iShares Russell 2000 ETF | 1,343.55 | 65,542.81 | 2.05% |
XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | 1,193.86 | 44,160.53 | 2.70% |
VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 1,037.74 | 220,035.71 | 0.47% |
VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 873.15 | 237,112.07 | 0.37% |
GLD | SPDR Gold Trust | 760.39 | 62,955.04 | 1.21% |
IEFA | iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF | 723.79 | 94,507.12 | 0.77% |
BBEU | JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF | 704.18 | 7,144.80 | 9.86% |
JNK | SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF | 673.70 | 9,849.34 | 6.84% |
VGK | Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF | 645.50 | 18,081.10 | 3.57% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | -9,328.37 | 349,542.88 | -2.67% |
QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust | -1,835.71 | 153,766.00 | -1.19% |
XBI | SPDR S&P Biotech ETF | -673.17 | 6,586.86 | -10.22% |
XLU | Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund | -509.32 | 11,674.36 | -4.36% |
IJH | iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF | -438.44 | 63,200.08 | -0.69% |
SPIB | SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF | -371.57 | 6,413.38 | -5.79% |
XOP | SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF | -326.04 | 3,750.78 | -8.69% |
IEF | iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF | -307.94 | 13,189.34 | -2.33% |
GSLC | Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF | -284.77 | 12,130.05 | -2.35% |
IGV | iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF | -253.95 | 4,684.13 | -5.42% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
U.S. Equity | 1,087.66 | 3,589,203.03 | 0.03% |
International Equity | 3,370.22 | 1,228,439.60 | 0.27% |
U.S. Fixed Income | 5,268.35 | 1,011,856.00 | 0.52% |
International Fixed Income | 773.60 | 137,210.74 | 0.56% |
Commodities | 1,402.94 | 144,556.66 | 0.97% |
Currency | 7.26 | 1,778.99 | 0.41% |
Leveraged | -40.39 | 55,074.98 | -0.07% |
Inverse | -146.69 | 11,787.30 | -1.24% |
Asset Allocation | 10.20 | 15,463.23 | 0.07% |
Alternatives | -111.51 | 6,315.65 | -1.77% |
Total: | 11,621.66 | 6,201,686.18 | 0.19% |
Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)
Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
U.S. Equity | 171,878.93 | 3,589,203.03 | 4.79% |
International Equity | 110,994.62 | 1,228,439.60 | 9.04% |
U.S. Fixed Income | 64,125.27 | 1,011,856.00 | 6.34% |
International Fixed Income | 16,786.34 | 137,210.74 | 12.23% |
Commodities | -3,275.82 | 144,556.66 | -2.27% |
Currency | -128.59 | 1,778.99 | -7.23% |
Leveraged | 3,114.29 | 55,074.98 | 5.65% |
Inverse | 2,854.62 | 11,787.30 | 24.22% |
Asset Allocation | 1,426.97 | 15,463.23 | 9.23% |
Alternatives | 1,607.40 | 6,315.65 | 25.45% |
Total: | 369,384.03 | 6,201,686.18 | 5.96% |
Top 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded
Ticker | Name | Weekly Performance | Weekly Volume | AUM ($, mm) |
VIXY | ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | 9.36% | 76,014,190 | 330.36 |
BDRY | Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF | 6.54% | 2,773,692 | 109.60 |
VXX | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN | 6.22% | 123,587,366 | 1,175.40 |
SLVP | iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF | 5.79% | 872,834 | 345.77 |
KGRN | KraneShares MSCI China Clean Technology Index ETF | 5.76% | 313,535 | 129.19 |
VXZ | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN | 5.66% | 63,942 | 40.28 |
MLPO | Credit Suisse S&P MLP Index ETN | 5.53% | 5,250 | 23.33 |
SILJ | ETFMG Prime Junior Silver Miners ETF | 5.18% | 10,320,928 | 999.66 |
SPXZ | Morgan Creek - Exos SPAC Originated ETF | 4.84% | 57,804 | 22.02 |
VIXM | ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF | 4.70% | 377,928 | 96.89 |
Top 10 YTD Performers
Ticker | Name | YTD Performance | Weekly Performance | AUM ($, mm) |
BDRY | Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF | 217.53% | 6.54% | 109.60 |
ILCV | iShares Morningstar Value ETF | 129.49% | -1.63% | 714.04 |
JJT | iPath Series B Bloomberg Tin Subindex Total Return ETN | 61.95% | 3.04% | 8.45 |
FCG | First Trust Natural Gas ETF | 61.57% | -0.28% | 210.15 |
PXE | Invesco Dynamic Energy Exploration & Production ETF | 60.59% | 0.37% | 67.72 |
PSCE | Invesco S&P SmallCap Energy ETF | 58.84% | 0.14% | 159.59 |
MLPO | Credit Suisse S&P MLP Index ETN | 55.30% | 5.53% | 23.33 |
URNM | North Shore Global Uranium Mining ETF | 52.68% | 1.16% | 318.87 |
GRN | iPath Series B Carbon ETN | 51.54% | -13.34% | 53.26 |
PXI | Invesco DWA Energy Momentum ETF | 50.49% | -1.78% | 163.90 |
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.