Int'l Equity ETFs Fuel $20B In Weekly Inflows

Senior ETF Analyst

Jan 15, 2021

Reviewed by: Sumit Roy

Edited by: Sumit Roy

Two weeks into the new year and ETF inflows are mirroring last year's torrid pace. Over the past week, investors added $20.1 billion to U.S.-listed ETFs. That brings year-to-date inflows up to $36.9 billion, just a tad ahead of the $35.2 billion seen at this same time a year ago.

This week's data, which measures the week ending Thursday, Jan. 14, showed the majority of new money heading into international equity ETFs. That's not something you see very often.

Led by the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG), investors added $13.8 billion to international equity ETFs. That outpaced the $5.6 billion that went into U.S. fixed income ETFs and the $1.3 billion that went into U.S. equity ETFs.

Perhaps investors see value in international stocks, which haven't rallied nearly as much as their U.S. counterparts. Until this week, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which is tracked by the aforementioned IEMG, hadn't hit a new high since 2007. That 13-year-old peak was finally broken this week, which may have spurred some of the interest in IEMG and other international equity ETFs.

ARK ETFs On Fire

In addition to IEMG, another standout on the weekly inflows list is the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK). One of 2020's biggest winners, ARKK continues to rocket higher in 2021, with a gain of 15% already in the first two weeks of the year.

Naturally, that's attracted the attention of investors, who plowed $1.3 billion into the fund over the past week and $1.7 billion into the fund since the start of the year. Assets under management in the ETF now stand at nearly $22 billion, compared to just $2 billion a year ago.

ARK's other funds have been popular as well. The seven ETFs in its suite have attracted inflows of more than $4 billion so far this year, lifting their assets under management to $42 billion. That makes ARK the 10th largest ETF issuer, according to the latest ETF.com League Table.

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
IEMG	iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF	2,288.29	74,701.01	3.06%
XLF	Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund	1,505.65	30,046.60	5.01%
VCIT	Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF	1,394.07	43,592.11	3.20%
MBB	iShares MBS ETF	1,309.28	26,592.60	4.92%
ARKK	ARK Innovation ETF	1,296.73	21,889.53	5.92%
DIA	SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust	1,071.38	25,780.49	4.16%
BND	Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF	1,055.52	69,221.38	1.52%
FTCS	First Trust Capital Strength ETF	1,037.93	8,056.92	12.88%
VTI	Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF	1,004.20	208,072.74	0.48%
ICLN	iShares Global Clean Energy ETF	868.00	6,661.51	13.03%

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

Ticker	Name	Net Flows ($,mm)	AUM ($, mm)	AUM % Change
SPY	SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust	-3,131.84	333,660.95	-0.94%
GLD	SPDR Gold Trust	-1,231.67	69,375.78	-1.78%
OMFL	Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF	-867.12	1,309.56	-66.21%
VUG	Vanguard Growth ETF	-864.09	67,736.42	-1.28%
HYG	iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF	-843.19	23,824.65	-3.54%
IWF	iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF	-785.32	63,695.32	-1.23%
TLT	iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF	-773.45	17,271.05	-4.48%
XLC	Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund	-678.11	11,146.29	-6.08%
USMV	iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF	-604.03	32,426.52	-1.86%
XLP	Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund	-487.19	12,406.26	-3.93%

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

	Net Flows ($, mm)	AUM ($, mm)	% of AUM
U.S. Equity	1,328.72	3,190,098.73	0.04%
International Equity	13,811.97	1,116,615.25	1.24%
U.S. Fixed Income	5,635.99	971,452.60	0.58%
International Fixed Income	646.83	124,627.30	0.52%
Commodities	-1,201.85	142,302.95	-0.84%
Currency	114.84	1,996.56	5.75%
Leveraged	-551.72	46,715.68	-1.18%
Inverse	219.52	11,321.27	1.94%
Asset Allocation	17.81	13,450.70	0.13%
Alternatives	87.68	5,569.25	1.57%
Total:	20,109.78	5,624,150.30	0.36%

Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)

	Net Flows ($, mm)	AUM ($, mm)	% of AUM
U.S. Equity	11,598.60	3,190,098.73	0.36%
International Equity	17,703.67	1,116,615.25	1.59%
U.S. Fixed Income	6,378.73	971,452.60	0.66%
International Fixed Income	1,504.98	124,627.30	1.21%
Commodities	-208.22	142,302.95	-0.15%
Currency	81.44	1,996.56	4.08%
Leveraged	-1,399.61	46,715.68	-3.00%
Inverse	999.15	11,321.27	8.83%
Asset Allocation	21.75	13,450.70	0.16%
Alternatives	257.29	5,569.25	4.62%
Total:	36,937.79	5,624,150.30	0.66%

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

Ticker	Name	Weekly Performance	Weekly Volume	AUM ($, mm)
VCAR	Simplify Volt RoboCar Disruption and Tech ETF	27,393.45%	16,167	12,406.26
GRU	Elements MLCX Grains Index-Total Return ETN	16.41%	59,810	3.90
POTX	Global X Cannabis ETF	14.23%	1,384,106	64.65
MLPO	Credit Suisse S&P MLP Index ETN	12.09%	6,026	19.98
THCX	The Cannabis ETF	10.37%	1,411,276	80.54
MSOS	AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF	9.30%	4,633,847	523.75
MJ	ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF	9.14%	13,420,699	1,373.08
YOLO	AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF	9.06%	3,169,829	246.91
AMZA	InfraCap MLP ETF	8.33%	421,878	176.00
FTXN	First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF	7.74%	47,855	20.52

Top 10 YTD Performers

Ticker	Name	YTD Performance	Weekly Performance	AUM ($, mm)
VCAR	Simplify Volt RoboCar Disruption and Tech ETF	27,393.45%	27,393.45%	20.52
POTX	Global X Cannabis ETF	40.30%	14.23%	64.65
THCX	The Cannabis ETF	33.68%	10.37%	80.54
BDRY	Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF	29.35%	-3.68%	24.87
MJ	ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF	28.08%	9.14%	1,373.08
CNBS	Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF	27.62%	7.64%	43.38
MLPO	Credit Suisse S&P MLP Index ETN	26.74%	12.09%	19.98
YOLO	AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF	26.06%	9.06%	246.91
MSOS	AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF	24.03%	9.30%	523.75
CNRG	SPDR S&P Kensho Clean Power ETF	23.80%	3.51%	328.83

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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Int'l Equity ETFs Fuel $20B In Weekly Inflows

Int'l Equity ETFs Fuel $20B In Weekly Inflows

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