ETF Inflows Hit $92B, But Much of It Looks Temporary
Massive inflows were driven largely by tax-related trades.
U.S.-listed ETFs pulled in a whopping $92.3 billion during the week ending Friday, March 20, pushing year-to-date inflows above $450 billion.
While the headline number looks massive, much of last week’s activity appears to be tied to tax-related heartbeat trades, which are often reversed shortly after they occur. That makes it difficult to draw strong conclusions about underlying investor demand.
Still, the flows offer a glimpse into where money moved.
Equity ETFs Lead The Way
U.S. equity ETFs dominated, taking in $64.9 billion during the week. International equity ETFs added $15.8 billion, while U.S. fixed income ETFs pulled in $12.2 billion.
At the top of the inflows list was the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD), which brought in $15.8 billion in what appears to be a classic heartbeat trade.
The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM) ranked second with $10.3 billion of inflows. Unlike SCHD, that move appears more likely to reflect organic demand.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) gathered $3.2 billion, likely tied to another heartbeat trade, while the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) took in $3 billion in what looks like more traditional investor demand.
Gold ETFs See Outflows
On the outflows side, gold funds stood out.
The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) lost $2.3 billion, while the iShares Gold Trust (IAU) saw $1.6 billion exit.
Those moves come as gold prices have pulled back sharply from recent highs, falling from around $5,400 earlier this year to as low as $4,100 intraday on Monday, a decline of roughly 24%.
Emerging markets equities also saw outflows.
The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) shed $1.2 billion. After gaining as much as 16% earlier this year, the fund is now up about 5% as international stocks have come under pressure from rising energy costs and geopolitical risks.
A Noisy Week For Flows
Taken together, last week’s flows highlight how noisy ETF data can be over short periods. Large, tax-driven trades can dominate the numbers, masking the underlying trend in investor demand.
With many of these trades likely to reverse, the coming weeks should offer a clearer picture of where investors are actually allocating capital.
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change< |
| SCHD | Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF | 15,763.58 | 98,929.36 | 15.93 |
| SPYM | SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF | 10,266.72 | 114,346.95 | 8.98 |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 4,519.25 | 860,175.68 | 0.53 |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 3,664.30 | 569,333.53 | 0.64 |
| VB | Vanguard Small-Cap ETF | 3,483.97 | 74,301.84 | 4.69 |
| VYM | Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index ETF | 3,369.04 | 75,347.57 | 4.47 |
| SMH | VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 3,192.45 | 47,479.80 | 6.72 |
| IJH | iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF | 3,120.63 | 108,512.28 | 2.88 |
| VO | Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF | 3,105.06 | 95,740.14 | 3.24 |
| EFG | iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF | 3,013.72 | 13,915.16 | 21.66 |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | -13,615.62 | 653,129.93 | -2.08 |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | -3,834.97 | 687,224.64 | -0.56 |
| GLD | SPDR Gold Shares | -2,258.89 | 156,298.56 | -1.45 |
| OEF | iShares S&P 100 ETF | -1,667.74 | 18,505.18 | -9.01 |
| IAU | iShares Gold Trust | -1,564.62 | 70,592.50 | -2.22 |
| EMB | iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF | -1,269.43 | 14,474.97 | -8.77 |
| EEM | iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | -1,180.60 | 26,724.37 | -4.42 |
| TLT | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | -914.81 | 43,379.51 | -2.11 |
| XLK | Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund | -856.45 | 87,605.82 | -0.98 |
| GDX | VanEck Gold Miners ETF | -792.58 | 25,613.31 | -3.09 |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| Alternatives | 846.70 | 118,419.18 | 0.72% |
| Asset Allocation | 306.62 | 36,349.11 | 0.84% |
| Commodities E T Fs | -4,410.36 | 357,224.32 | -1.23% |
| Currency | 709.87 | 113,069.97 | 0.63% |
| International Equity | 15,844.80 | 2,452,617.75 | 0.65% |
| International Fixed Income | -111.69 | 400,481.86 | -0.03% |
| Inverse | 482.44 | 15,270.09 | 3.16% |
| Leveraged | 1,575.34 | 136,839.14 | 1.15% |
| Us Equity | 64,861.62 | 8,133,641.81 | 0.80% |
| Us Fixed Income | 12,207.60 | 2,020,616.98 | 0.60% |
| Total: | 92,312.94 | 13,784,530.21 | 0.67% |
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.
