'HYG' & 'GLD' Lead Weekly Inflows Again; HEDJ Out Of Favor
Investors added billions of dollars into ETFs this week, but some segments of the market were favored over others.
ETF investors were in a cheerful mood this week, as stocks as well as bonds rallied toward record highs.
Positive data on the U.S. economy (nonfarm payrolls for June increased by 287K) boosted the S&P 500 close to its all-time high on Friday, but bonds remained well supported also thanks to quantitative easing programs around the world and speculation that the Fed won't raise rates anytime soon.
About $12.6 billion of fresh capital came into U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds in the week ending Thursday, July 7. Of that, $5.6 billion went into U.S. equity ETF, another $5.6 billion went into U.S. fixed-income ETFs, and $1.9 billion went into commodity ETFs.
HYG & GLD Lead Inflows Again
In terms of individual products, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY | A-97) took the No. 1 position, with $3.4 billion in inflows. That was followed by the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG | B-68) with $1.2 billion.
At No. 3 was the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD | A-100). Its $1.2 billion in inflows this week brought its year-to-date total to a whopping $13.4 billion.
Gold prices briefly hit a two-year high of around $1,367/oz earlier in the week before backing down modestly. The inflows into GLD suggest that investors remain concerned about financial markets despite the recent rally in stocks.
Japan & Europe ETFs Top Outflows
Taking a look at the outflows list for the week, the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ | B-93) was the biggest loser, with $759 million worth of redemptions.
That was followed by the iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU | B-84), with outflows of $623 million; the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF | A-94), with outflows of $479 million; and the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (HEDJ | B-47) , with outflows of $422 million.
On a year-to-date basis, outflows for HEDJ total a whopping $5.6 billion, reflecting investors' reduced appetite for currency-hedged products.
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | 3,383.60 | 182,355.34 | 1.89% |
| HYG | iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | 1,238.19 | 16,185.74 | 8.28% |
| GLD | SPDR Gold Trust | 1,222.41 | 42,969.90 | 2.93% |
| LQD | iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 970.04 | 30,624.94 | 3.27% |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | 768.14 | 73,679.55 | 1.05% |
| XLP | Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund | 539.20 | 10,616.59 | 5.35% |
| EMB | iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF | 400.32 | 7,533.52 | 5.61% |
| SHY | iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF | 392.27 | 10,428.91 | 3.91% |
| SHV | iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF | 386.48 | 3,819.65 | 11.26% |
| AGG | iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | 360.83 | 39,291.37 | 0.93% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| EWJ | iShares MSCI Japan ETF | -758.52 | 13,871.34 | -5.18% |
| EZU | iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF | -623.14 | 8,655.95 | -6.72% |
| XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | -478.87 | 14,323.67 | -3.24% |
| HEDJ | WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund | -422.32 | 9,899.91 | -4.09% |
| MDY | SPDR S&P Midcap 400 ETF Trust | -415.60 | 15,799.42 | -2.56% |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund | -295.36 | 60,961.20 | -0.48% |
| NUGT | Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 3x Shares | -260.24 | 1,731.77 | -13.06% |
| EWG | iShares MSCI Germany ETF | -233.51 | 3,692.12 | -5.95% |
| NEAR | iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF | -205.39 | 2,043.92 | -9.13% |
| SVXY | ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -155.65 | 552.36 | -21.98% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| U.S. Equity | 5,566.74 | 1,245,368.41 | 0.45% |
| International Equity | -1,394.17 | 463,337.95 | -0.30% |
| U.S. Fixed Income | 5,560.33 | 390,977.49 | 1.42% |
| International Fixed Income | 538.85 | 37,038.97 | 1.45% |
| Commodities | 1,859.34 | 77,162.07 | 2.4% |
| Currency | 4.61 | 1,416.86 | 0.32% |
| Leveraged | -428.37 | 24,892.57 | -1.72% |
| Inverse | 646.32 | 19,613.89 | 3.29% |
| Asset Allocation | 22.74 | 6,130.75 | 0.37% |
| Alternatives | 265.12 | 4,003.77 | 6.6% |
| Total: | 12,641.51 | 2,269,942.75 | 0.71% |
Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM
| Ticker | Name | Average Volume (30 Day) | 1 Week Average Volume | % of Average |
| JPXN | iShares JPX-Nikkei 400 ETF | 30,893 | 236,630 | 765.96% |
| INKM | SPDR SSgA Income Allocation ETF | 5,808 | 25,396 | 437.26% |
| MLPC | C-Tracks Miller/Howard MLP Fundamental ETN | 1,934 | 6,370 | 329.40% |
| DGRO | iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF | 239,447 | 894,871 | 373.72% |
| PHB | Powershares Fundamental High Yield Corporate Bond Portfolio | 742,491 | 2,766,994 | 372.66% |
| MINT | PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF | 418,557 | 1,030,477 | 246.20% |
| IDLV | PowerShares S&P International Developed Low Volatility ETF | 104,794 | 307,759 | 293.68% |
| FTY | iShares Real Estate 50 ETF | 5,581 | 24,069 | 431.28% |
| WOOD | iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF | 14,948 | 31,895 | 213.37% |
| SYLD | Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF | 21,486 | 62,275 | 289.85% |
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.
