Junk Bonds & Energy Stocks Lead Weekly Flows
'HYG' and 'XLE' took the Nos.1 and 2 spots on the weekly flows list.
U.S.-listed ETFs saw another net inflow this week on the whole, but investors sold equity ETFs despite a strong week for stocks in terms of performance. Instead, it was fixed-income ETFs that continued to steadily gain assets from investors.
On net, $850 million flowed into ETFs of all kinds in the week ending Thursday, Feb. 18. U.S. fixed-income ETFs had an inflow of $3.2 billion, while U.S. equity ETFs had an outflow of $800 million, and international equity ETFs had an outflow of $2.1 billion.
That said, while fixed income was this week's flows leader, it wasn't just safe-haven Treasurys that took in money. In fact, the beaten-down iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG | B-68) took the No. 1 spot, with a $837 million inflow. With junk bond yields near double-digit levels, some investors saw value in the space.
Another beaten-down ETF that saw bargain buying was the Energy Select SPDR (XLE | B-68), with inflows of $503 million, while the iShares Gold Trust (IAU | B-100) gained $259 million on safe-haven buying.
On the other side of the ledger was the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY | A-98), which had outflows of $1.3 billion, leading all ETFs. Another notable loser was the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity ETF (DXJ | B-66), with a $372 million outflow. Japanese stocks have struggled all year amid a faltering economy and a stronger currency.
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| HYG | iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond | 836.84 | 13,767.05 | 6.47% |
| XLE | Energy Select SPDR | 503.05 | 11,844.98 | 4.44% |
| TLT | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond | 444.86 | 9,703.58 | 4.80% |
| IEI | iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond | 326.87 | 6,780.62 | 5.06% |
| XLY | Consumer Discretionary Select SPDR | 325.41 | 10,008.31 | 3.36% |
| LQD | iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond | 316.24 | 23,954.02 | 1.34% |
| USMV | iShares MSCI USA Minimum Volatility | 283.03 | 8,731.01 | 3.35% |
| IEF | iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond | 275.33 | 10,265.34 | 2.76% |
| IAU | iShares Gold Trust | 259.15 | 7,062.31 | 3.81% |
| TIP | iShares TIPS Bond | 256.52 | 14,882.99 | 1.75% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 | -1,251.04 | 173,639.50 | -0.72% |
| IWM | iShares Russell 2000 | -814.35 | 21,963.02 | -3.58% |
| EZU | iShares MSCI Eurozone | -498.28 | 13,052.40 | -3.68% |
| VDE | Vanguard Energy | -388.80 | 3,278.62 | -10.60% |
| DXJ | WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity | -371.59 | 10,898.50 | -3.30% |
| QQQ | PowerShares QQQ | -367.42 | 35,534.87 | -1.02% |
| DIA | SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average Trust | -255.75 | 11,901.81 | -2.10% |
| HEDJ | WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity | -249.81 | 14,487.91 | -1.70% |
| FEZ | SPDR Euro STOXX 50 | -235.50 | 3,285.33 | -6.69% |
| ACWX | iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. | -213.16 | 1,905.59 | -10.06% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| U.S. Equity | -803.33 | 866,330.68 | -0.09% |
| International Equity | -2,126.05 | 344,906.75 | -0.62% |
| U.S. Fixed Income | 3,201.66 | 277,856.03 | 1.15% |
| International Fixed Income | 120.77 | 22,054.62 | 0.55% |
| Commodities | 447.55 | 43,077.82 | 1.04% |
| Currency | -42.42 | 1,099.45 | -3.86% |
| Leveraged | -424.29 | 16,907.07 | -2.51% |
| Inverse | 486.67 | 15,112.49 | 3.22% |
| Asset Allocation | -22.08 | 4,108.88 | -0.54% |
| Alternatives | 11.57 | 2,342.26 | 0.49% |
| Total: | 850.05 | 1,593,796.05 | 0.05% |
Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM
| Ticker | Name | Average Volume (30 Day) | 1 Week Average Volume | % of Average |
| IBDN | iShares iBonds Dec 2022 Corporate | 55,437 | 356,284 | 642.68% |
| RIGS | RiverFront Strategic Income | 200,327 | 750,749 | 374.76% |
| JPGE | JPMorgan Diversified Return Global Equity | 4,310 | 13,690 | 317.61% |
| BSCM | Guggenheim BulletShares 2022 Corporate Bond | 174,226 | 494,323 | 283.73% |
| DBEM | Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF | 106,638 | 276,469 | 259.26% |
| DGP | DB Gold Double Long ETN | 93,752 | 259,413 | 276.70% |
| BSCO | Guggenheim BulletShares 2024 Corporate Bond | 46,128 | 181,826 | 394.18% |
| BBRC | EGShares Beyond BRICs | 68,493 | 130,672 | 190.78% |
| PTNQ | Pacer Trendpilot 100 | 29,319 | 48,584 | 165.71% |
| IGF | iShares Global Infrastructure | 265,177 | 446,400 | 168.34% |
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.
