Gold/Treasury ETFs Up YTD Inflows To $312B

Sumit Roy

Senior ETF Analyst

Sep 08, 2017

Reviewed by: Sumit Roy

Edited by: Sumit Roy

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A rally in government bonds encouraged investors to plow billions of dollars into ETFs this week. According to the latest data from FactSet, inflows into U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds totaled $8.9 billion in the week ending Thursday, Sept. 7.

Year-to-date inflows now stand at a record $312 billion.

The majority of this week's inflows―$2.6 billion―went into U.S. fixed-income ETFs. During the period, bonds surged, with the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield dropping as low as 2.01%, down from 2.17% last week (bond prices and yields move inversely).

At the same time, just slightly less money―$2.5 billion―headed for U.S. equity ETFs. The S&P 500 moved slightly lower week-over-week, as investors fretted about North Korea, Hurricane Irma and the political wrangling in Washington.

Also taking in new money were international equity ETFs, with inflows of $1.7 billion; international fixed-income ETFs, with inflows of $414 million; and commodity ETFs, with inflows of $821 million.

'TLT' & 'GLD' Big Winners
The biggest ETF beneficiary of this week's inflows into fixed income was the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), which had creations of $919 million.

Other fixed-income products to see interest were the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) and the iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEI), with inflows of $448 million and $262 million, respectively.

Another notable fund on the top 10 list was the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD). It had inflows of $873 million during the week as gold prices reached their highest levels in a year above $1,360/oz.

Meanwhile, on the outflows side, notable losers included the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX), the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF (HEFA) and the Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF (DBJP).

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
IWM	iShares Russell 2000 ETF	1,088.09	37,079.61	3.02%
TLT	iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF	918.99	7,640.44	13.67%
XLP	Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund	892.36	8,709.11	11.42%
IVV	iShares Core S&P 500 ETF	880.75	124,594.16	0.71%
GLD	SPDR Gold Trust	872.89	35,932.47	2.49%
VWO	Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF	566.44	62,484.67	0.91%
HYG	iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF	448.35	18,480.42	2.49%
VTI	Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF	368.39	81,672.70	0.45%
XLE	Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund	271.52	15,090.75	1.83%
IEI	iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF	261.60	7,498.48	3.61%

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

Ticker	Name	Net Flows ($,mm)	AUM ($, mm)	AUM % Change
SPY	SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust	-1,373.65	242,329.79	-0.56%
XLI	Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund	-719.71	11,128.80	-6.07%
LQD	iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF	-328.40	38,301.37	-0.85%
XLF	Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund	-269.45	24,384.65	-1.09%
SCHD	Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF	-212.37	5,804.53	-3.53%
VXX	iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN	-188.24	1,264.39	-12.96%
VXF	Vanguard Extended Market ETF	-165.80	5,048.61	-3.18%
XLY	Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund	-143.62	11,613.43	-1.22%
HEFA	iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF	-137.79	4,113.06	-3.24%
DBJP	Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF	-126.32	1,731.57	-6.80%

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

	Net Flows ($, mm)	AUM ($, mm)	% of AUM
U.S. Equity	2,528.87	1,695,117.66	0.15%
International Equity	1,685.51	716,729.89	0.24%
U.S. Fixed Income	2,618.90	500,223.73	0.52%
International Fixed Income	414.39	54,546.46	0.76%
Commodities	821.20	66,899.92	0.00%
Currency	-5.40	1,458.91	-0.37%
Leveraged	-221.40	29,341.82	-0.75%
Inverse	390.25	18,296.82	2.13%
Asset Allocation	45.63	7,399.56	0.62%
Alternatives	-178.49	4,244.71	-4.20%
Total:	8,920.68	3,094,208.18	0.26%

Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM

Ticker	Name	Average Volume (30 Day)	1 Week Average Volume	% of Average
IBCC	iShares iBonds Mar 2018 Term Corporate ex-Financials ETF	27,776	214,445	772.05%
HFXI	IQ 50 Percent Hedged FTSE International ETF	203,163	1,401,749	689.96%
IDEV	iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF	20,778	114,276	549.98%
PUI	PowerShares DWA Utilities Momentum Portfolio	11,021	44,332	402.24%
FTGC	First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund	49,079	192,153	391.52%
IEUR	iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF	510,585	1,772,320	347.12%
FIEU	Credit Suisse FI Enhanced Europe 50 ETN	1,666	6,227	373.73%
SCHO	Schwab Short-Term US Treasury ETF	309,265	1,116,303	360.95%
DBJP	Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF	790,164	4,334,694	548.58%
USLB	PowerShares Russell 1000 Low Beta Equal Weight Portfolio	8,569	23,439	273.53%

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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Gold/Treasury ETFs Up YTD Inflows To $312B

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