ETF Flows Hit $320B As 'TLT' Tops List

Inflows into the Treasury bond ETF helped propel 2017 ETF inflows to a new record high.

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Senior ETF Analyst
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Reviewed by: Sumit Roy
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Edited by: Sumit Roy

[Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article contained an error in a performance table. It will be republished when it has been corrected.]

Record highs in the stock market went hand in hand with record highs for ETF inflows this week. The S&P 500 reached just shy of 2,500 for the first time, while investors added $11.6 billion to U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds during the week ending Thursday, Sept. 14.

Year-to-date inflows now stand at $319.9 billion, according to FactSet data, which is a fresh annual record.

Once again, inflows were distributed across the spectrum. U.S. equity ETFs picked up $5.6 billion during the latest week; international equity ETFs picked up $2.5 billion; and U.S. fixed-income ETFs picked up $3.3 billion.

'TLT' On Top 
Finding itself atop the weekly inflows list for a second-straight week was the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT). Investors added $1.3 billion to the fund as Treasury bonds whipsawed during the period; the U.S. 10-year yield fell as low as 2.03% before spiking to 2.2% by week's end (bond prices and yields move inversely). 

The iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEI), with its $510 million worth of inflows, and the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCIT), with inflows of $380 million, were the only other fixed-income products in the top 10.

Meanwhile, after a short hiatus, two emerging market ETFs made an appearance on the list this week. The Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) had inflows of more than $440 million apiece during the week.

On the flip side, notable names on the outflist list included the ProShares UltraPro S&P 500 (UPRO), the ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY), the iShares MSCI Germany ETF (EWG), the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) and the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (HEWG)

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

Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)

TickerNameNet Flows ($,mm)AUM ($, mm)AUM % Change
TLTiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF1,259.339,407.1715.46%
VOVanguard Mid-Cap ETF852.5320,603.224.32%
IEFAiShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF634.0835,081.321.84%
IEIiShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF510.188,220.706.62%
VWOVanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF454.7263,678.120.72%
VBVanguard Small-Cap ETF449.1219,798.122.32%
IEMGiShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF424.0337,740.801.14%
XLFFinancial Select Sector SPDR Fund395.6925,169.371.60%
VCITVanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF379.5917,075.342.27%
VBKVanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF377.146,678.805.98%

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

TickerNameNet Flows ($,mm)AUM ($, mm)AUM % Change
LQDiShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF-689.0937,338.95-1.81%
IJHiShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF-384.7839,106.46-0.97%
SPYSPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust-312.77245,992.67-0.13%
UPROProShares UltraPro S&P500-229.83907.92-20.20%
IWFiShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF-200.9936,746.62-0.54%
SVXYProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF-189.741,369.49-12.17%
EWGiShares MSCI Germany ETF-172.174,739.17-3.51%
HYGiShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF-158.3218,453.71-0.85%
DXJWisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund-156.007,956.85-1.92%
HEWGiShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF-153.67661.41-18.85%

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

 Net Flows ($, mm)AUM ($, mm)% of AUM
U.S. Equity5,575.181,730,827.860.32%
International Equity2,454.27730,575.840.34%
U.S. Fixed Income3,319.00503,353.960.66%
International Fixed Income99.0254,695.360.18%
Commodities ETFs208.7066,809.950.31%
Currency-12.121,448.70-0.84%
Leveraged-261.6629,394.46-0.89%
Inverse-44.0318,416.46-0.24%
Asset Allocation16.467,491.670.22%
Alternatives211.004,129.945.11%
Total:11,565.803,147,144.200.37%

Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM

TickerNameAverage Volume
(30 Day)
1 Week Average
Volume
% of Average
HAWXiShares Currency Hedged MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF15,07852,101345.55%
STIPiShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF54,988139,848254.32%
IYHiShares U.S. Healthcare ETF54,231147,155271.35%
FDTFirst Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX Fund74,066176,498238.30%
GNRSPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF96,135211,452219.95%
IYGiShares US Financial Services ETF76,380162,390212.61%
INPiPath MSCI India Index ETN5,98212,844214.70%
CHADDirexion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bear 1X Shares9,35617,997192.37%
FNKFirst Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund15,70952,798336.11%
JHMTJohn Hancock Multifactor Technology ETF5,0297,963158.35%

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.

 

Sumit Roy is the senior ETF analyst for etf.com, where he has worked for 13 years. He creates a variety of content for the platform, including news articles, analysis pieces, videos and podcasts.

Before joining etf.com, Sumit was the managing editor and commodities analyst for Hard Assets Investor. In those roles, he was responsible for most of the operations of HAI, a website dedicated to education about commodities investing.

Though he still closely follows the commodities beat, Sumit covers a much broader assortment of topics for etf.com, with a particular focus on stock and bond exchange-traded funds.

He is the host of etf.com’s Talk ETFs, a popular video series that features weekly interviews with thought leaders in the ETF industry. Sumit is also co-host of Exchange Traded Fridays, etf.com’s weekly podcast series.

He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he enjoys climbing the city’s steep hills, playing chess and snowboarding in Lake Tahoe.