ETFs See $33B Outflow as Heartbeat Trades Unwind
U.S.-listed ETFs saw $33.4 billion in outflows as tax-driven heartbeat trades from the prior week reversed.
U.S.-listed ETFs saw a rare weekly outflow of $33.4 billion for the week ending March 27, driven largely by reversals of tax-related “heartbeat” trades.
Most of the outflows came from U.S. equity ETFs, which lost $33.1 billion. International equity ETFs shed another $5.3 billion. On the other hand, U.S. fixed income ETFs pulled in $3.8 billion.
The flows largely reflect the unwind of the large, temporary inflows seen the prior week, when issuers used heartbeat trades to help reduce future capital gains distributions.
At the fund level, the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) led with $40.8 billion in inflows, reversing the massive outflows it experienced last week. IVV often shows this pattern around quarter end, with large outflows followed by sharp inflows.
In contrast, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) saw $35.9 billion in outflows, while the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) shed $14.6 billion, both largely tied to heartbeat-related activity.
With quarter-end flows distorting the data, the weekly figures should be viewed with some caution.
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change< |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | 40,798.23 | 714,075.55 | 5.71 |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | 8,983.24 | 647,550.33 | 1.39 |
| SPYM | Tradr 2X Long SPY Monthly ETF | 2,994.95 | 115,080.92 | 2.60 |
| BIL | SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF | 2,869.91 | 49,623.03 | 5.78 |
| SGOV | iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF | 2,449.45 | 83,043.84 | 2.95 |
| BGIG | Bahl & Gaynor Income Growth ETF | 1,587.07 | 2,022.92 | 78.45 |
| XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | 975.00 | 48,146.47 | 2.03 |
| HYG | iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | 959.01 | 16,395.57 | 5.85 |
| VEA | Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | 900.92 | 200,482.71 | 0.45 |
| EMXC | iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China ETF | 877.16 | 16,777.95 | 5.23 |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | -35,894.89 | 808,017.77 | -4.44 |
| SCHD | Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF | -14,572.84 | 84,335.14 | -17.28 |
| SMH | VanEck Semiconductor ETF | -4,387.45 | 41,391.28 | -10.60 |
| VB | Vanguard Small-Cap ETF | -3,231.06 | 70,591.76 | -4.58 |
| VYM | Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index ETF | -3,055.12 | 72,079.72 | -4.24 |
| VO | Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF | -2,667.51 | 92,155.47 | -2.89 |
| IJR | iShares Core S&P Small Cap ETF | -2,541.16 | 91,607.34 | -2.77 |
| IJH | iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF | -2,511.10 | 105,747.94 | -2.37 |
| VTV | Vanguard Value ETF | -2,024.94 | 164,384.26 | -1.23 |
| VXF | Vanguard Extended Market ETF | -1,987.70 | 25,513.67 | -7.79 |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| Alternatives | 888.31 | 117,588.86 | 0.76% |
| Asset Allocation | 205.24 | 36,012.60 | 0.57% |
| Commodities E T Fs | -809.16 | 345,575.27 | -0.23% |
| Currency | -221.22 | 109,711.41 | -0.20% |
| International Equity | -5,261.07 | 2,396,604.53 | -0.22% |
| International Fixed Income | 1,505.03 | 399,552.62 | 0.38% |
| Inverse | 128.15 | 15,973.97 | 0.80% |
| Leveraged | -483.41 | 125,284.55 | -0.39% |
| Us Equity | -33,136.84 | 7,963,500.81 | -0.42% |
| Us Fixed Income | 3,807.13 | 2,010,423.82 | 0.19% |
| Total: | -33,377.84 | 13,520,228.44 | -0.25% |
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.
