‘QQQ’ Leads Creations Charge
Appetite for ETFs remains ravenous.
U.S. equity markets had a positive week, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both hitting new records Friday, and strong economic data supporting appetite for risk. A record-breaking initial public offering of Coinbase also added excitement to the week as investors chased the crypto exchange’s debut.
Funds like the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) picked up some $2.5 billion this week, leading creations, as U.S. equity ETFs raked in more than $14 billion in net assets. Interestingly, the S&P 500’s technology sector lagged sectors such as health care, materials and consumer discretionary in the past week, but appetite for QQQ remains strong. So far this year, the fund has gathered more than $4.3 billion in net creations.
Among the standouts, the First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS), an equal-weighted fund that focuses on quality by investing in companies with strong balance sheets, picked up more than $2.1 billion in creations, pushing its assets under management up 22% in a week to $9.8 billion.
The actively managed newcomer, the BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF (LCTU), launched April 6, saw its AUM nearly double during the week, rising 98% to $1.2 billion in total assets. The fund’s immediate success in asset gathering is more evidence that investor appetite for strategies delivering on environmental, social and governance metrics is strong.
For the first time in a while, 2020’s fixed income darling, the iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD), found itself among the most bought ETFs of the week.
For a full list of this week’s top inflows and outflows, see the tables below:
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust | 2,566.44 | 166,881.31 | 1.54% |
FTCS | First Trust Capital Strength ETF | 2,191.26 | 9,782.62 | 22.40% |
LQD | iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 1,738.36 | 41,631.13 | 4.18% |
VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 1,453.54 | 235,196.71 | 0.62% |
VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 1,324.74 | 215,994.75 | 0.61% |
LCTU | BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF | 1,268.95 | 1,282.47 | 98.95% |
BND | Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | 900.00 | 72,660.05 | 1.24% |
IEFA | iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF | 826.55 | 90,802.38 | 0.91% |
SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | 585.35 | 358,846.73 | 0.16% |
XLE | Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund | 519.18 | 23,097.21 | 2.25% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | -706.88 | 272,512.47 | -0.26% |
TQQQ | ProShares UltraPro QQQ | -571.09 | 11,821.42 | -4.83% |
XLC | Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund | -557.87 | 13,242.82 | -4.21% |
IEUR | iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF | -522.44 | 3,727.66 | -14.02% |
XLP | Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund | -361.83 | 10,464.46 | -3.46% |
TLT | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | -357.71 | 14,211.33 | -2.52% |
BIL | SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF | -315.66 | 12,086.08 | -2.61% |
VNQ | Vanguard Real Estate ETF | -280.21 | 36,686.52 | -0.76% |
IWF | iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF | -270.64 | 66,459.84 | -0.41% |
IWD | iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF | -263.51 | 52,209.70 | -0.50% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
U.S. Equity | 14,101.41 | 3,577,975.83 | 0.39% |
International Equity | 3,687.75 | 1,210,247.98 | 0.30% |
U.S. Fixed Income | 6,642.45 | 991,362.77 | 0.67% |
International Fixed Income | 1,045.72 | 132,844.04 | 0.79% |
Commodities | -306.35 | 130,698.63 | -0.23% |
Currency | -64.24 | 1,832.89 | -3.50% |
Leveraged | -776.82 | 56,879.67 | -1.37% |
Inverse | 32.62 | 11,035.49 | 0.30% |
Asset Allocation | 75.55 | 15,066.73 | 0.50% |
Alternatives | 85.85 | 5,982.86 | 1.44% |
Total: | 24,523.95 | 6,133,926.91 | 0.40% |
Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)
Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
U.S. Equity | 146,375.66 | 3,577,975.83 | 4.09% |
International Equity | 92,046.39 | 1,210,247.98 | 7.61% |
U.S. Fixed Income | 43,050.07 | 991,362.77 | 4.34% |
International Fixed Income | 12,305.23 | 132,844.04 | 9.26% |
Commodities | -6,578.99 | 130,698.63 | -5.03% |
Currency | -57.50 | 1,832.89 | -3.14% |
Leveraged | 2,271.18 | 56,879.67 | 3.99% |
Inverse | 2,066.39 | 11,035.49 | 18.72% |
Asset Allocation | 1,172.96 | 15,066.73 | 7.79% |
Alternatives | 1,388.89 | 5,982.86 | 23.21% |
Total: | 294,040.28 | 6,133,926.91 | 4.79% |
Top 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded
Ticker | Name | Weekly Performance | Weekly Volume | AUM ($, mm) |
MLPO | Credit Suisse S&P MLP Index ETN | 7.35% | 1,142 | 21.32 |
BDRY | Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF | 7.25% | 847,306 | 57.51 |
IDIV | U.S. Equity Cumulative Dividends Fund-Series 2027 | 6.74% | 119,834 | 22.95 |
OILK | ProShares K-1 Free Crude Oil Strategy ETF | 6.04% | 151,131 | 85.27 |
USO | United States Oil Fund LP | 5.91% | 23,103,996 | 3,113.00 |
OIL | iPath Pure Beta Crude Oil ETN | 5.88% | 79,887 | 53.37 |
DBO | Invesco DB Oil Fund | 5.55% | 2,509,577 | 514.41 |
USL | United States 12 Month Oil Fund LP | 5.50% | 171,408 | 212.50 |
BNO | United States Brent Oil Fund LP | 5.41% | 2,471,300 | 340.36 |
JJE | iPath Series B Bloomberg Energy Subindex Total Return ETN | 5.22% | 26,415 | 26.16 |
Top 10 YTD Performers
Ticker | Name | YTD Performance | Weekly Performance | AUM ($, mm) |
ACVF | American Conservative Values ETF | 37,036.68% | 1.18% | 6.25 |
BDRY | Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF | 144.03% | 7.25% | 57.51 |
BLOK | Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF | 59.46% | -3.06% | 1,433.03 |
CNBS | Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF | 55.70% | -6.15% | 141.02 |
PXE | Invesco Dynamic Energy Exploration & Production ETF | 47.44% | 2.68% | 66.54 |
MJ | ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF | 46.89% | -5.60% | 1,695.94 |
FCG | First Trust Natural Gas ETF | 46.57% | 3.20% | 178.33 |
THCX | The Cannabis ETF | 44.16% | -8.39% | 159.78 |
XRT | SPDR S&P Retail ETF | 43.60% | -0.01% | 682.06 |
PSCE | Invesco S&P SmallCap Energy ETF | 43.57% | 4.13% | 129.45 |
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.