ETF Inflows Strong To Start 2021

Senior ETF Analyst

Jan 08, 2021

Reviewed by: Sumit Roy

Edited by: Sumit Roy

After setting a fresh annual record in 2020, ETF inflows kept up their robust pace during the first week of 2021. On net, investors added $16.8 billion to U.S.-listed ETFs during the first week of the new year. That data, which measures the holiday-shortened week ending Thursday, Jan. 7, showed U.S. equity ETFs taking an early lead on the flows charts, led by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF).

The S&P 500 raced to record highs this week, topping 3,800 for the first time as investors anticipated fresh stimulus measures following the inauguration of President-elect Biden later this month. With Congress in Democrats' hands following two victories in Georgia's Senate runoff elections, expectations are that fiscal spending could ramp up significantly in the coming months.

Yield Spike

Those expectations sent bond yields surging. The 10-year Treasury bond yield topped 1.12% for the first time since last March this week, pushing many bond ETFs lower (bond prices and yields move inversely). The spike in yields also had a negtive effect on gold, which tumbled to a one-month low below $1,850/oz during the week.

Nevertheless, ETF investors still added to their bond and gold holdings. U.S. fixed income ETFs had net inflows of $742 million during the period, while the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) registered inflows of $684 million.

On the other hand, investors lightened up on some of their tech exposure. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which was one of last year's top performers, saw outflows of nearly $2 billion.

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
SPY	SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust	2,865.18	331,227.17	0.87%
IWM	iShares Russell 2000 ETF	2,263.14	63,376.57	3.57%
XLF	Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund	2,174.58	27,775.04	7.83%
OMFL	Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF	823.98	2,156.65	38.21%
XLE	Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund	749.10	15,410.45	4.86%
VTI	Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF	711.41	203,029.05	0.35%
XLB	Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund	688.00	6,162.27	11.16%
GLD	SPDR Gold Trust	683.65	73,397.23	0.93%
BND	Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF	606.07	68,274.23	0.89%
ARKK	ARK Innovation ETF	410.87	18,625.15	2.21%

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

Ticker	Name	Net Flows ($,mm)	AUM ($, mm)	AUM % Change
QQQ	Invesco QQQ Trust	-1,974.90	146,878.02	-1.34%
HYG	iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF	-1,086.29	24,659.71	-4.41%
IYR	iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF	-1,063.94	4,209.66	-25.27%
SHV	iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF	-815.62	17,016.12	-4.79%
PDP	Invesco DWA Momentum ETF	-380.45	1,985.48	-19.16%
IVW	iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF	-364.83	31,406.07	-1.16%
SCHO	Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF	-321.19	7,479.47	-4.29%
IYM	iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF	-316.93	621.95	-50.96%
TLT	iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF	-293.36	18,048.69	-1.63%
IJK	iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF	-285.01	7,864.78	-3.62%

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

	Net Flows ($, mm)	AUM ($, mm)	% of AUM
U.S. Equity	10,249.14	3,128,860.90	0.33%
International Equity	3,891.70	1,083,067.22	0.36%
U.S. Fixed Income	742.74	965,530.97	0.08%
International Fixed Income	858.15	124,335.32	0.69%
Commodities	993.63	148,899.48	0.67%
Currency	-33.39	1,885.71	-1.77%
Leveraged	-847.89	45,039.87	-1.88%
Inverse	779.63	11,528.55	6.76%
Asset Allocation	3.95	13,323.24	0.03%
Alternatives	169.61	5,546.28	3.06%
Total:	16,807.26	5,528,017.52	0.30%

Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)

	Net Flows ($, mm)	AUM ($, mm)	% of AUM
U.S. Equity	10,249.14	3,128,860.90	0.33%
International Equity	3,891.70	1,083,067.22	0.36%
U.S. Fixed Income	742.74	965,530.97	0.08%
International Fixed Income	858.15	124,335.32	0.69%
Commodities	993.63	148,899.48	0.67%
Currency	-33.39	1,885.71	-1.77%
Leveraged	-847.89	45,039.87	-1.88%
Inverse	779.63	11,528.55	6.76%
Asset Allocation	3.95	13,323.24	0.03%
Alternatives	169.61	5,546.28	3.06%
Total:	16,807.26	5,528,017.52	0.30%

Top 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded

Ticker	Name	Weekly Performance	Weekly Volume	AUM ($, mm)
THCX	The Cannabis ETF	13.21%	897,571	57.02
PSCE	Invesco S&P SmallCap Energy ETF	13.17%	627,606	32.85
POTX	Global X Cannabis ETF	13.01%	865,343	45.28
PXI	Invesco DWA Energy Momentum ETF	12.42%	41,001	22.21
XES	SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF	12.25%	381,317	148.92
FCG	First Trust Natural Gas ETF	11.94%	3,008,863	117.67
PSCM	Invesco S&P SmallCap Materials ETF	11.81%	78,413	13.90
OIH	VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETF	11.52%	1,643,516	838.78
IEZ	iShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF	11.51%	1,256,231	88.91
CNBS	Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF	11.50%	514,332	30.11

Top 10 YTD Performers

Ticker	Name	YTD Performance	Weekly Performance	AUM ($, mm)
FUE	Elements MLCX Biofuels Index-Total Return ETN	25.59%	11.20%	0.46
AAAU	Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF	20.86%		521.88
POTX	Global X Cannabis ETF	19.29%	13.01%	45.28
THCX	The Cannabis ETF	17.92%	13.21%	57.02
CNBS	Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF	15.53%	11.50%	30.11
PSCE	Invesco S&P SmallCap Energy ETF	15.49%	13.17%	32.85
MJ	ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF	15.12%	11.17%	1,105.65
XES	SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF	14.01%	12.25%	148.92
FCG	First Trust Natural Gas ETF	13.72%	11.94%	117.67
PXI	Invesco DWA Energy Momentum ETF	13.70%	12.42%	22.21

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

| Contact: [email protected]

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.

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ETF Inflows Strong To Start 2021

ETF Inflows Strong To Start 2021

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