Massive Weekly Inflows For Russell-Indexed ETFs
Annual reconstitution of Russell indices led to huge inflows into iShares Russell ETFs.
ETF flows were salvaged this week as the Russell reconstitution trade offset trade war concerns. On net, $7.5 billion flowed into U.S.-listed ETFs during the week ending Thursday, June 21, according to FactSet.
Heading into Thursday, ETFs were on track for net outflows of nearly $10 billion as traders eased up on their equity positions amid rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China. But then Thursday rolled around, and a whopping $16.5 billion flooded into ETFs—mostly funds tracking Russell indices.
That's likely no coincidence. After the market close today (Friday, June 22), Russell will reconstitute all of its U.S. Russell indices, including the popular Russell 1000 and Russell 2000 indices. Funds tracking those indices will have to buy and sell stocks based on the new index makeup.
Heavy Trading
The event typically leads to heavy trading activity in the U.S. stock market. When Russell indices rebalance, it's typically one of the highest-volume days of the year.
Ahead of the reconstitution, ETFs tracking Russell indices saw a flurry of activity—perhaps related to some investors using sophisticated trading strategies to profit from the annual event. Eight of the top 10 ETFs with the largest inflows this week were iShares Russell ETFs, including the iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF), the iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) and the iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN).
Inflows into those funds helped offset sizable outflows from the likes of the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM), the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) and the Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (VB).
On net, $11 billion flowed into U.S. equity ETFs during the week, and $480 million went into U.S. fixed-income ETFs. On the other hand, international equity ETFs had net outflows of $3.4 billion.
Year-to-date inflows for all U.S.-listed ETFs now stand at $142.5 billion.
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| IWF | iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF | 4,130.99 | 47,771.75 | 9.47% |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | 2,765.95 | 268,854.08 | 1.04% |
| IWD | iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF | 2,514.74 | 39,019.61 | 6.89% |
| QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust | 2,311.11 | 69,008.39 | 3.47% |
| IWN | iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF | 1,843.68 | 12,355.63 | 17.54% |
| IWP | iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF | 1,812.54 | 10,948.62 | 19.84% |
| IWM | iShares Russell 2000 ETF | 1,808.89 | 50,194.18 | 3.74% |
| IWS | iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF | 1,361.86 | 12,198.75 | 12.57% |
| IWO | iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF | 1,274.20 | 12,411.06 | 11.44% |
| IWV | iShares Russell 3000 ETF | 895.60 | 9,562.87 | 10.33% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| VYM | Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF | -3,109.78 | 21,218.23 | -12.78% |
| EEM | iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | -2,932.10 | 32,666.67 | -8.24% |
| VB | Vanguard Small-Cap ETF | -1,940.47 | 24,332.88 | -7.39% |
| XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | -1,202.07 | 31,018.30 | -3.73% |
| IJH | iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF | -957.36 | 48,283.15 | -1.94% |
| EFA | iShares MSCI EAFE ETF | -949.00 | 73,643.08 | -1.27% |
| VBK | Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF | -782.50 | 8,490.78 | -8.44% |
| XLI | Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund | -614.68 | 12,007.54 | -4.87% |
| HYG | iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | -600.81 | 14,755.28 | -3.91% |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | -586.41 | 151,503.08 | -0.39% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| U.S. Equity | 11,040.67 | 2,064,442.75 | 0.53% |
| International Equity | -3,378.53 | 808,216.00 | -0.42% |
| U.S. Fixed Income | 476.28 | 547,098.36 | 0.09% |
| International Fixed Income | 222.82 | 61,912.37 | 0.36% |
| Commodities | -200.43 | 67,019.51 | -0.30% |
| Currency | -0.78 | 1,206.39 | -0.06% |
| Leveraged | -327.69 | 36,082.03 | -0.91% |
| Inverse | -185.79 | 13,179.73 | -1.41% |
| Asset Allocation | -112.24 | 9,332.86 | -1.20% |
| Alternatives | -61.16 | 4,303.66 | -1.42% |
| Total: | 7,473.14 | 3,612,793.67 | 0.21% |
Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM
| Ticker | Name | Average Volume (30 Day) | 1 Week Average Volume | % of Average |
| AGT | iShares MSCI Argentina and Global Exposure ETF | 19,761 | 96,644 | 489.06% |
| HOLD | AdvisorShares Sage Core Reserves ETF | 727 | 2,954 | 406.34% |
| DMRM | DeltaShares S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF | 1,915 | 6,953 | 363.04% |
| ARCM | Arrow Reserve Capital Management ETF | 93 | 248 | 267.32% |
| VXXB | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN | 5,362 | 17,887 | 333.58% |
| FSZ | First Trust Switzerland AlphaDEX Fund | 6,742 | 19,432 | 288.20% |
| CLTL | Invesco Treasury Collateral ETF | 654 | 1,662 | 254.17% |
| BICK | First Trust BICK Index Fund | 7,463 | 21,742 | 291.32% |
| DMRL | DeltaShares S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF | 3,539 | 8,386 | 236.99% |
| FNX | First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund | 45,284 | 141,086 | 311.56% |
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.
