ETFs Lose $11B Last Week

Investors on aggregate pulled nearly $11 billion in assets out of ETFs last week as fears grow that the Fed’s aggressive tone on hiking rates to cool inflation could lead to a recession. 

The loss of $10.9 billion between April 4 and April 8 is the second week of outflows this year, and the worst since mid-September of last year when fears of Chinese property developer Evergrande’s collapse spurred nearly $30 billion in outflows. 

U.S.-listed ETFs ended the week with a net gain of $195.1 billion year-to-date and had $6.9 trillion in assets under management. 

US Stocks, Bonds Sell Off 

Domestic equity and fixed income ETFs suffered billion-dollar outflows, with stock funds losing $13.6 billion and bond funds decreasing by $4.8 billion. 

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) took just under $10 billion in outflows on the week, followed by the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) losing $3.2 billion in a distant second place. 

Sector-specific ETFs also struggled, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) losing $3 billion as fears of a recession outweighed the prospect of interest rate hikes that in theory support greater bank earnings. J.P. Morgan is scheduled to kick off earnings season when it releases first quarter numbers on Wednesday. 

Fears over persistent inflation and higher borrowing costs caused the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) to lose $554 million on the week. 

The combination of soaring Treasury yields and a shaky economic outlook led to a hammering in corporate bond funds.  

The iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) led fixed income fund losers, with $1.3 billion in outflows, followed by the SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF (JNK), which lost just less than $935 million. The Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH) and the iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) lost a combined $1.47 billion in assets on the week. 

The iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) was the lone government bond fund on the top 10 outflows list, losing $496 million on the week. The 10-year yield has risen 20 points from April 4 to Monday afternoon. 

Emerging Markets Take Slim Wins 

Inflows were sparse among the broad-market and sector-specific funds, with the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) leading gainers with $1.4 billion and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) adding $847 million. 

The Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (SOXL) had the second-largest inflows, with $1.1 billion in assets added for a 20.9% jump in AUM, despite the industry indicator VanEckVectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) posting a 4.38% loss on the week with no positive days. 

The only clear trend in inflows was in emerging market equity ETFs. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) added $1.1 billion to lead the category, and the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets (IEMG) added a combined $1.12 billion. 

The Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCIT) led fixed income inflows, with $426 million in new assets, followed by the SPDR Blackstone Senior Loan ETF (SRLN), with just shy of $411 million. 
 

For a full list of last 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

Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)

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

Top 10 YTD Performers

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.