ETF Inflows Hit $37B as SLV & IGV Draw Buyers, IBIT Sees Outflows

U.S.-listed ETFs pulled in $37.2 billion last week, pushing year-to-date inflows to $207 billion.

International equity ETFs were once again in high demand, attracting $10.9 billion of new money. Still, they were narrowly edged out by U.S. equity ETFs, which gathered $11 billion during the week.

U.S. fixed income ETFs followed closely with $8.1 billion of inflows, while leveraged ETFs pulled in $4.3 billion of inflows.

Notably, last week’s sharp selloff in technology stocks did little to derail ETF demand. While tech shares came under pressure, the broader market largely shrugged it off. By Monday, the S&P 500 was once again trading near record highs.

International stocks have been even stronger. Funds that hold international stocks pushed to fresh records last week, continuing a trend of outperformance versus the U.S. 

The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) are up 8.9% and 10.4%, respectively, so far this year, well ahead of the 1.8% gain for the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO).

Bond markets were relatively calm during the week, with the 10-year Treasury yield hovering around 4.2%.

Top ETF Flows

On an individual fund basis, VOO once again topped the leaderboard, pulling in $6.5 billion. That came as little surprise, given the fund’s role as a core holding for many investors.

More eye-catching was the $2.4 billion that flowed into the iShares Silver Trust (SLV), making it the second-largest inflow winner of the week. Silver prices have been volatile this year, surging early before pulling back sharply. Last week’s downward move appears to have prompted some bargain hunting. Despite the recent inflows, SLV still has year-to-date outflows of $1.3 billion.

Another notable gainer was the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV), which took in $1.2 billion. Software stocks have plunged this year as concerns around AI-driven disruption weighed on the industry. 

Some investors appear to be buying the dip, while others may be using the ETF in more sophisticated strategies, such as pairing a long position in IGV with short positions in individual stocks.

The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) also had a strong week, attracting $1 billion of inflows. The fund has benefited from the relative outperformance of smaller stocks this year and is up 5.7% year to date, roughly triple the gain of VOO.

Rounding out the top 10 was the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX), which gathered $773 million. GDX is up 20% so far this year, building on its massive 155% gain last year.

Outflows For GLD & IBIT

On the other side of the ledger, the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) saw a rare $1.7 billion outflow. Gold prices have pulled back from recent highs, though they have held up far better than silver during the recent bout of volatility.

The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) also saw heavy selling, with $875 million of outflows. Bitcoin prices slid to nearly $60,000 last week, less than half of their October peak.

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