ETFs See Record Weekly Flows Of $71B
U.S.-listed ETFs on track to see $1 trillion in new assets for 2021.
Inflows for U.S.-listed ETFs shattered records this week amid a combination of tax-related creation activity and continued strong demand from investors.
A net $71 billion flowed into the space during the week ending Thursday, March 18, according to the latest data from FactSet.
Padded By Heartbeat Trades
Judging by the spiky inflows for broad vanilla ETFs like the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) and the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD), it’s likely that this week’s massive inflows figure was padded by tax-related “heartbeat” trades, much of which may reverse next week.
Still, ETF inflows have been strong all year, so it wouldn’t be surprising if investors continued to plow money into these and other products during the week.
Indeed, in less than three months, $252.5 billion has flowed into ETFs, more than triple the $70.7 billion seen at this same time a year ago. Extrapolating the current pace, U.S.-listed ETFS are on track to haul in more than $1 trillion this year, which, if it came to pass, would blow the existing annual record of $476.1 billion out of the water.
US Equity ETFs Lead Flows
Following this week’s moves, U.S. equity ETFs are the most in-demand category of funds, with year-to-date inflows of $138.1 billion. That’s followed by international equity ETFs, with $78.1 billion; and U.S. fixed income ETFs, with inflows of $26.1 billion year-to-date.
During the week, the S&P 500 inched up to a fresh record high of 3,974, holding just below the 4,000 level as it’s done for the past month or so.
Meanwhile, Treasuries continued to sell off, with the 10-year yield spiking as high as 1.75% on Thursday (bond yields and prices move inversely).
The iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) and the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) were notable flows losers during the week.
For a full list the top inflows and outflows of the week and the year as a whole, see the tables below:
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
VIG | Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF | 12,592.05 | 67,318.36 | 18.71% |
SCHD | Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | 5,186.43 | 25,637.30 | 20.23% |
VO | Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF | 3,627.28 | 49,687.01 | 7.30% |
VB | Vanguard Small-Cap ETF | 2,562.59 | 47,255.11 | 5.42% |
VXF | Vanguard Extended Market ETF | 1,797.66 | 17,825.61 | 10.08% |
VBK | Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF | 1,577.72 | 17,214.96 | 9.16% |
RSP | Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF | 1,553.45 | 24,605.47 | 6.31% |
VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 1,549.98 | 205,381.58 | 0.75% |
IJH | iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF | 1,502.95 | 63,180.15 | 2.38% |
QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust | 1,296.16 | 153,742.16 | 0.84% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
HYLB | Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | -644.35 | 6,566.31 | -9.81% |
SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | -548.58 | 339,866.09 | -0.16% |
EFV | iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF | -390.56 | 11,742.24 | -3.33% |
GLD | SPDR Gold Trust | -387.41 | 58,283.61 | -0.66% |
IEF | iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF | -352.96 | 13,759.63 | -2.57% |
GEM | Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta Emerging Markets Equity ETF | -345.98 | 1,339.83 | -25.82% |
USMV | iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF | -340.76 | 28,265.33 | -1.21% |
SHV | iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF | -329.33 | 15,971.58 | -2.06% |
IGV | iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF | -313.71 | 5,121.36 | -6.13% |
TIP | iShares TIPS Bond ETF | -200.64 | 25,792.81 | -0.78% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
U.S. Equity | 60,308.22 | 3,494,897.12 | 1.73% |
International Equity | 6,698.25 | 1,184,670.70 | 0.57% |
U.S. Fixed Income | 3,164.28 | 971,168.64 | 0.33% |
International Fixed Income | 889.25 | 128,305.39 | 0.69% |
Commodities | -427.40 | 132,579.01 | -0.32% |
Currency | -30.28 | 1,879.83 | -1.61% |
Leveraged | 412.57 | 55,328.44 | 0.75% |
Inverse | -177.08 | 11,411.35 | -1.55% |
Asset Allocation | 89.61 | 14,485.76 | 0.62% |
Alternatives | 79.55 | 5,993.25 | 1.33% |
Total: | 71,006.97 | 6,000,719.48 | 1.18% |
Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)
Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
U.S. Equity | 138,132.37 | 3,494,897.12 | 3.95% |
International Equity | 78,055.02 | 1,184,670.70 | 6.59% |
U.S. Fixed Income | 26,141.11 | 971,168.64 | 2.69% |
International Fixed Income | 7,994.16 | 128,305.39 | 6.23% |
Commodities | -4,710.05 | 132,579.01 | -3.55% |
Currency | -10.19 | 1,879.83 | -0.54% |
Leveraged | 3,087.88 | 55,328.44 | 5.58% |
Inverse | 1,878.30 | 11,411.35 | 16.46% |
Asset Allocation | 799.14 | 14,485.76 | 5.52% |
Alternatives | 1,104.31 | 5,993.25 | 18.43% |
Total: | 252,472.05 | 6,000,719.48 | 4.21% |
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.