Int'l Equity ETFs Fuel Weekly Inflows
U.S.-listed ETFs had a modest net inflow during the week ending Thursday, May 4, as inflows into international equity ETFs offset outflows from U.S. equity ETFs.
ETF investors lightened up on their U.S. equity positions while adding to their international equity positions, according to the latest data from FactSet. In total, U.S.-listed ETFs registered net inflows of $1.6 billion in the week ending Thursday, May 4, but the contrast between the various asset classes was stark.
U.S. equity ETFs had outflows of $4.7 billion in the period, largely due to a $7 billion redemption in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The outflow took place despite a successful passage of the GOP health care bill in the House of Representatives and the release of a strong jobs report during the week, pushing the S&P 500 near its record high of 2,400.
On the flip side, international equity ETFs had inflows of $4.2 billion ahead of the French presidential run-off this weekend in which the centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron is expected to be victorious, according to polls.
U.S. fixed-income and international fixed-income ETFs also saw inflows during the week, with creations of $1.3 billion and $500 million, respectively.
QQQ Leads Inflows, SPY Leads Outflows
In terms of individual ETFs, the PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQ) was the only fund to have inflows of more than $1 billion during the period.
International equity ETFs that did well during the week included the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO), with inflows of $646 million; the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA), with inflows of $406 million; the iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU), with inflows of $398 million; and the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA), with inflows of $395 million.
On the outflows side, as stated previously, SPY was the biggest loser, with redemptions of $7 billion. That was followed by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), with outflows of $1.3 billion.
The iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG), with redemptions of $658 million; the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), with redemptions of $533 million; and the PowerShares High Beta Portfolio (SPHB), with redemptions of $273 million, were a few other ETFs that fell out of favor this week.
For a full list of this week's top inflows and outflows, see the tables below:
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| QQQ | PowerShares QQQ Trust | 1,093.26 | 50,266.89 | 2.22% |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund | 724.52 | 66,696.14 | 1.10% |
| VWO | Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF | 646.15 | 53,592.89 | 1.22% |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | 433.59 | 109,873.34 | 0.40% |
| VEA | Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | 405.89 | 50,909.03 | 0.80% |
| EZU | iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF | 398.13 | 10,788.86 | 3.83% |
| IEFA | iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF | 394.66 | 24,453.21 | 1.64% |
| IWD | iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF | 384.76 | 37,296.57 | 1.04% |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund | 326.31 | 77,778.03 | 0.42% |
| IXUS | iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF | 318.93 | 5,788.07 | 5.83% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | -7,018.20 | 230,926.19 | -2.95% |
| IWM | iShares Russell 2000 ETF | -1,325.21 | 38,889.93 | -3.30% |
| MDY | SPDR S&P Midcap 400 ETF Trust | -733.45 | 18,527.49 | -3.81% |
| HYG | iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | -657.60 | 18,676.35 | -3.40% |
| GDX | VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF | -532.93 | 9,597.22 | -5.26% |
| SPHB | PowerShares S&P 500 High Beta Portfolio | -272.84 | 265.39 | -50.69% |
| XLU | Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund | -211.18 | 7,128.32 | -2.88% |
| XBI | SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF | -187.61 | 3,085.21 | -5.73% |
| XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | -176.01 | 23,148.46 | -0.75% |
| XRT | SPDR S&P Retail ETF | -154.81 | 281.96 | -35.45% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| U.S. Equity | -4,665.00 | 1,627,254.54 | -0.29% |
| International Equity | 4,165.40 | 620,177.82 | 0.67% |
| U.S. Fixed Income | 1,259.20 | 454,943.05 | 0.28% |
| International Fixed Income | 469.18 | 47,588.09 | 0.99% |
| Commodities | -49.00 | 63,723.45 | -0.08% |
| Currency | -34.93 | 2,821.22 | -1.24% |
| Leveraged | 568.99 | 26,832.66 | 2.12% |
| Inverse | -91.90 | 17,272.50 | -0.53% |
| Asset Allocation | 43.44 | 6,924.21 | 0.63% |
| Alternatives | -103.65 | 3,677.59 | -2.82% |
| Total: | 1,561.75 | 2,871,215.11 | 0.05% |
Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM
| Ticker | Name | Average Volume (30 Day) | 1 Week Average Volume | % of Average |
| BMLP | BMO Elkhorn DWA MLP Select Index ETN | 289 | 1,680 | 581.00% |
| IVAL | ValueShares International Quantitative Value ETF | 8,431 | 32,943 | 390.75% |
| QVAL | ValueShares U.S. Quantitative Value ETF | 10,734 | 44,400 | 413.64% |
| CHIQ | Global X China Consumer ETF | 36,954 | 106,503 | 288.21% |
| JKF | iShares Morningstar Large Cap Value ETF | 13,222 | 35,709 | 270.08% |
| FXA | CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust | 21,652 | 63,264 | 292.19% |
| CQQQ | Guggenheim China Technology ETF | 20,778 | 58,338 | 280.77% |
| HOLD | AdvisorShares Sage Core Reserves ETF | 95 | 191 | 200.91% |
| PPLT | ETFS Physical Platinum Shares | 56,799 | 159,710 | 281.18% |
| SPXL | Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3x Shares | 302,579 | 1,118,448 | 369.64% |
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.
