ETF Flows Hit $320B As 'TLT' Tops List
Inflows into the Treasury bond ETF helped propel 2017 ETF inflows to a new record high.
[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 $440 million apiece during the week.
On the flip side, notable names on the outflist list included the ProShares UltraPro S&P 500 (UPRO), the ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY), the iShares MSCI Germany ETF (EWG), the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) and the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (HEWG).
For a full list of this week's top inflows and outflows, see the tables below:
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| TLT | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | 1,259.33 | 9,407.17 | 15.46% |
| VO | Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF | 852.53 | 20,603.22 | 4.32% |
| IEFA | iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF | 634.08 | 35,081.32 | 1.84% |
| IEI | iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF | 510.18 | 8,220.70 | 6.62% |
| VWO | Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF | 454.72 | 63,678.12 | 0.72% |
| VB | Vanguard Small-Cap ETF | 449.12 | 19,798.12 | 2.32% |
| IEMG | iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | 424.03 | 37,740.80 | 1.14% |
| XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | 395.69 | 25,169.37 | 1.60% |
| VCIT | Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF | 379.59 | 17,075.34 | 2.27% |
| VBK | Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF | 377.14 | 6,678.80 | 5.98% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| LQD | iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | -689.09 | 37,338.95 | -1.81% |
| IJH | iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF | -384.78 | 39,106.46 | -0.97% |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | -312.77 | 245,992.67 | -0.13% |
| UPRO | ProShares UltraPro S&P500 | -229.83 | 907.92 | -20.20% |
| IWF | iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF | -200.99 | 36,746.62 | -0.54% |
| SVXY | ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -189.74 | 1,369.49 | -12.17% |
| EWG | iShares MSCI Germany ETF | -172.17 | 4,739.17 | -3.51% |
| HYG | iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | -158.32 | 18,453.71 | -0.85% |
| DXJ | WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | -156.00 | 7,956.85 | -1.92% |
| HEWG | iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF | -153.67 | 661.41 | -18.85% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| U.S. Equity | 5,575.18 | 1,730,827.86 | 0.32% |
| International Equity | 2,454.27 | 730,575.84 | 0.34% |
| U.S. Fixed Income | 3,319.00 | 503,353.96 | 0.66% |
| International Fixed Income | 99.02 | 54,695.36 | 0.18% |
| Commodities ETFs | 208.70 | 66,809.95 | 0.31% |
| Currency | -12.12 | 1,448.70 | -0.84% |
| Leveraged | -261.66 | 29,394.46 | -0.89% |
| Inverse | -44.03 | 18,416.46 | -0.24% |
| Asset Allocation | 16.46 | 7,491.67 | 0.22% |
| Alternatives | 211.00 | 4,129.94 | 5.11% |
| Total: | 11,565.80 | 3,147,144.20 | 0.37% |
Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM
| Ticker | Name | Average Volume (30 Day) | 1 Week Average Volume | % of Average |
| HAWX | iShares Currency Hedged MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF | 15,078 | 52,101 | 345.55% |
| STIP | iShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF | 54,988 | 139,848 | 254.32% |
| IYH | iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF | 54,231 | 147,155 | 271.35% |
| FDT | First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX Fund | 74,066 | 176,498 | 238.30% |
| GNR | SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF | 96,135 | 211,452 | 219.95% |
| IYG | iShares US Financial Services ETF | 76,380 | 162,390 | 212.61% |
| INP | iPath MSCI India Index ETN | 5,982 | 12,844 | 214.70% |
| CHAD | Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bear 1X Shares | 9,356 | 17,997 | 192.37% |
| FNK | First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | 15,709 | 52,798 | 336.11% |
| JHMT | John Hancock Multifactor Technology ETF | 5,029 | 7,963 | 158.35% |
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.
