ETF Weekly Inflow Streak Since Election Ends

For the first week since the November elections, investors took money out of exchange-traded funds―but just barely. Outflows from U.S.-listed ETFs totaled $415 million in the week ending Thursday, March 23. That snapped a 19-week win streak for ETFs, and pushed the year-to-date inflows total down to $124.9 billion.  

Failure to pass an Obamacare replacement bill in the House of Representatives raised concerns that it will be more difficult to enact the pro-growth policies that President Trump promised, such as tax cuts and deregulation. On Friday, a vote on the health care bill was delayed for a second time after Republican leaders said there weren't enough votes for it to pass. 

The S&P 500 dropped almost 2% during the week, and saw its first 1% down day since October on Tuesday. In turn, U.S. equity ETFs saw the largest outflows, to the tune of $9.3 billion.

On the other hand, international equity ETFs picked up the slack, taking in $4.4 billion. U.S. fixed-income and international fixed-income ETFs also garnered favor amid safe-haven buying, with inflows of $3.9 billion and $800 million, respectively. 

The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped from 2.5% to 2.4% week-over-week.

Emerging Markets ETFs Pick Up Assets 
In terms of individual ETFs, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) were the biggest winners, with inflows of $2.6 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively.

Small-caps got hit harder than their large-cap counterparts this week, which likely prompted some bargain buying.

Taking the No. 3 spot on the inflows list was the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG), with inflows of $1.1 billion. Stabilization in oil prices near the $48/barrel level helped junk bond prices edge up from recent lows.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned IEMG wasn't the only emerging markets-focused ETF to make the weekly top 10. Others included the iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB) and the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO), with creations of $619 million and $456 million, respectively.

XLF & DIA Register Outflows
On the outflows side, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) had $3.9 billion worth of redemptions. That was followed by the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund (VIG), with outflows of $1.6 billion.

The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average Trust (DIA) was another loser, with outflows of $706 million. At the same time, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) saw redemptions of $614 million. XLF had a lousy week in terms of performance, as the ETF plunged more than 4%.

Finally, rounding out the top 10 outflows list was an international name: the Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF (DBJP), with outflows of $406 million.

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

Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM

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.