Net New ETF Flows Slow to a Crawl as Investors Flee Risk
- Net weekly inflows totaled just $2.9 billion.
- Equity ETFs saw heavy redemptions.
- Investor behavior skewed sharply defensive.
ETF inflows slowed dramatically during the week ending April 18, with just $2.9 billion of net new money entering U.S.-listed funds. That brought year-to-date inflows to $347 billion.
U.S. equity ETFs were the main source of weakness, posting $6.6 billion in outflows as investors braced for further volatility amid a 1.5% drop in the S&P 500 during the holiday-shortened trading week. Inflows into international equity ETFs ($4.3 billion) and U.S. fixed-income ETFs ($4.1 billion) helped offset some of the damage.
Investors Get Defensive
Investor behavior skewed sharply defensive. The SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL), the iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV), the Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV) and the iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF (SHV) dominated the top inflows list, reflecting a flight to both short- and ultra-short-term bonds.
Still, a few risk-on bets stood out. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) pulled in $1.5 billion, while the iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (USHY) also made the top 10, suggesting selective risk-taking remained.
The iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI) saw $736 million in inflows, as some investors looked to increase international exposure amid heightened geopolitical and macro uncertainty.
Notably, the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) was the only broad U.S. equity fund to crack the top 10 creations list—an unusual development since broad-based domestic stock ETFs are typically well-represented among top weekly inflows.
On the redemption side, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) posted the largest outflows, shedding $4.8 billion and $3.7 billion, respectively. The iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) also saw sizable redemptions as concerns about long-duration U.S. debt persisted.
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change< |
| BIL | SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF | 2,870.23 | 49,072.52 | 5.85 |
| BSV | Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF | 2,173.28 | 38,076.89 | 5.71 |
| SHV | iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF | 2,044.94 | 23,023.62 | 8.88 |
| SMH | VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 1,481.34 | 19,329.49 | 7.66 |
| SGOV | iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF | 1,035.12 | 43,765.17 | 2.37 |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 864.12 | 417,964.37 | 0.21 |
| XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | 812.85 | 47,620.65 | 1.71 |
| ACWI | iShares MSCI ACWI ETF | 735.67 | 18,932.86 | 3.89 |
| XFIV | BondBloxx Bloomberg Five Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF | 676.76 | 815.27 | 83.01 |
| USHY | iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | 652.78 | 19,689.70 | 3.32 |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
| Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | -4,807.38 | 547,944.29 | -0.88 |
| IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | -3,743.32 | 536,048.23 | -0.70 |
| IEF | iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF | -3,015.95 | 34,785.46 | -8.67 |
| SPTI | SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Treasury ETF | -1,717.37 | 7,901.05 | -21.74 |
| VV | Vanguard Large-Cap ETF | -1,411.48 | 36,057.60 | -3.91 |
| BND | Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | -1,105.53 | 125,321.56 | -0.88 |
| IWM | iShares Russell 2000 ETF | -1,009.42 | 57,901.05 | -1.74 |
| HYG | iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | -818.24 | 14,700.68 | -5.57 |
| QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust Series I | -703.54 | 284,122.94 | -0.25 |
| XLP | Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund | -639.66 | 15,385.97 | -4.16 |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
| Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
| Alternatives | -166.38 | 9,614.81 | -1.73% |
| Asset Allocation | 122.05 | 22,850.06 | 0.53% |
| Commodities ETFs | 941.89 | 213,222.34 | 0.44% |
| Currency | 149.95 | 104,388.43 | 0.14% |
| International Equity | 4,311.02 | 1,591,766.14 | 0.27% |
| International Fixed Income | 111.02 | 275,479.38 | 0.04% |
| Inverse | 789.17 | 14,982.83 | 5.27% |
| Leveraged | -804.10 | 92,628.71 | -0.87% |
| US Equity | -6,598.49 | 6,056,148.85 | -0.11% |
| US Fixed Income | 4,052.68 | 1,632,665.80 | 0.25% |
| Total: | 2,908.80 | 10,013,747.35 | 0.03% |
Disclaimer: All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern time the date the article is published. Data are believed to be accurate; however, transient market data are often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges.
