‘QQQ’ Leads Creations Charge

Investor appetite for ETFs is still on a tear, with $25 billion in net new money landing across U.S.-listed ETFs in the week ending Thursday, April 15. That number brings total ETF net creations to some $294 billion so far in 2021—a record pace, and one that puts the milestone target of $1 trillion inflows in a year within sight.

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.