Weekly Inflows Slow Torrid Pace As 2017 Total Hits $78.5B

The pace of weekly inflows slowed, but remained firmly in positive territory this week.

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Reviewed by: Sumit Roy
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Edited by: Sumit Roy

Weekly inflows into U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds slowed from last week's torrid pace, but remained firmly in positive territory, according to FactSet. In total, $7.1 billion entered ETFs in the week ending Thursday, Feb. 23, pushing year-to-date inflows to $78.5 billion.

Unsurprisingly, U.S. equity ETFs took the bulk of the inflows again, at $2.8 billion. The S&P 500 hit a fresh record high of 2,368 on Thursday.

International equity ETFs and U.S. fixed-income ETFs saw roughly equal inflows, at $1.6 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively. International fixed income was the only other segment to see notable inflows, at about $500 million.

EM Debt ETF Back In Favor
The usual ETF giants dominated the weekly flows leaderboard. From the PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQ) with $874 million worth of inflows to the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) with its $517 million worth of inflows, most of the names on the list are familiar.

However, one standout that made its first appearance on the top 10 in a while was the iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB), with inflows of $361 million. EMB was popular last year, but didn't see much flows action since then until this week. 

The iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF (EWZ) was another noteworthy winner on the list, with inflows of $358 million. EWZ has surged this year, gaining more than 15% on a year-to-date basis.

Outflows From Low-Volatility ETFs 
On the outflows side, a number of interesting ETFs made an apperance. The PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (SPLV) had redemptions of more than $350 million, pushing its assets under management down by 5.3%.

A similar fund, the iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF (ACWV), also had redemptions, to the tune of $250 million.

Meanwhile, other ETFs to fall out of favor during the week included the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ), with outflows of $232 million; the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP), with outflows of $154 million; and the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology ETF (IBB), with outflows of $147 million. 

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 PowerShares QQQ Trust 874.13 45,248.51 1.97%
IWM iShares Russell 2000 ETF 651.34 37,750.68 1.76%
IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF 569.44 97,461.80 0.59%
HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 516.83 18,654.16 2.85%
LQD iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF 434.59 30,158.68 1.46%
EMB iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF 360.52 9,078.96 4.14%
EWZ iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF 358.46 5,642.37 6.78%
IJH iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF 347.41 39,115.22 0.90%
VOO Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund 295.31 62,890.54 0.47%
EFA iShares MSCI EAFE ETF 254.36 63,843.93 0.40%

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

Ticker Name Net Flows ($,mm) AUM ($, mm) AUM % Change
SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust -1,244.49 233,561.53 -0.53%
JNK SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF -534.28 12,635.78 -4.06%
SPLV Powershares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio -351.53 6,319.36 -5.27%
ACWV iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF -249.76 2,935.72 -7.84%
EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF -232.04 16,374.53 -1.40%
XLI Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund -217.86 11,273.86 -1.90%
XLB Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund -165.40 3,724.98 -4.25%
XOP SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF -153.70 1,957.25 -7.28%
IBB iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology ETF -147.09 8,168.62 -1.77%
AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF -129.99 42,135.72 -0.31%

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

  Net Flows ($, mm) AUM ($, mm) % of AUM
U.S. Equity 2,810.75 1,590,230.26 0.18%
International Equity 1,640.19 566,765.19 0.29%
U.S. Fixed Income 1,707.72 434,296.57 0.39%
International Fixed Income 501.56 43,080.90 1.16%
Commodities 1.38 64,753.16 0.00%
Currency 54.78 3,040.31 1.80%
Leveraged 103.77 26,446.13 0.39%
Inverse 211.94 16,929.14 1.25%
Asset Allocation 5.62 6,641.07 0.08%
Alternatives 63.08 4,058.48 1.55%
Total: 7,100.78 2,756,241.21 0.26%

Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM

Ticker Name Average Volume
(30 Day)
1 Week Average
Volume
% of Average
EEMA iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Asia ETF 80,897 206,936 255.80%
NORW Global X MSCI Norway ETF 101,053 286,450 283.46%
OILB iPath Series B S&P GSCI Crude Oil ETN 922 2,917 316.22%
VMBS Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities Index Fund 596,758 1,464,621 245.43%
EWO iShares MSCI Austria Capped ETF 153,691 352,767 229.53%
FDM First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund 31,096 127,943 411.44%
CZA Guggenheim Mid-Cap Core ETF 14,232 29,116 204.58%
IOO iShares Global 100 ETF 49,328 173,541 351.81%
FRN Guggenheim Frontier Markets ETF 97,713 283,887 290.53%
SMMU PIMCO Short Term Municipal Bond Active ETF 8,897 15,202 170.87%

Top 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded

Ticker Name Weekly Performance Weekly Volume AUM ($, mm)
INFR Legg Mason Global Infrastructure ETF 0.00% 1,626 5.26
WBIY WBI Power Factor High Dividend ETF 0.00% 19,733 22.32
QXGG QuantX Risk Managed Growth ETF 0.00% 31,386 57.26
XH Elkhorn S&P MidCap Health Care Portfolio 0.00% 1,742 1.62
DWLD Davis Select Worldwide ETF 0.00% 60,718 19.79
QXTR QuantX Risk Managed Multi-Asset Total Return ETF 0.00% 17,165 67.64
BOSS Global X Founder-Run Companies ETF 0.00% 37,684 1.52
TBLU Tortoise Water Fund 0.00% 3,797 2.55
XUSA QuantX Dynamic Beta US Equity ETF 0.00% 12,553 29.66
SWIN ALPS Dorsey Wright Sector Momentum ETF 0.00% 6,294 3.94

Bottom 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded

Ticker Name Weekly Performance Weekly Volume AUM ($, mm)
INFR Legg Mason Global Infrastructure ETF 0.00% 1,626 5.26
WBIY WBI Power Factor High Dividend ETF 0.00% 19,733 22.32
QXGG QuantX Risk Managed Growth ETF 0.00% 31,386 57.26
XH Elkhorn S&P MidCap Health Care Portfolio 0.00% 1,742 1.62
DWLD Davis Select Worldwide ETF 0.00% 60,718 19.79
QXTR QuantX Risk Managed Multi-Asset Total Return ETF 0.00% 17,165 67.64
BOSS Global X Founder-Run Companies ETF 0.00% 37,684 1.52
TBLU Tortoise Water Fund 0.00% 3,797 2.55
XUSA QuantX Dynamic Beta US Equity ETF 0.00% 12,553 29.66
SWIN ALPS Dorsey Wright Sector Momentum ETF 0.00% 6,294 3.94

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.

 

Sumit Roy is the senior ETF analyst for etf.com, where he's worked for 12 years. Before joining the company, Roy was the managing editor and commodities analyst for Hard Assets Investor. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he enjoys climbing the city’s steep hills, playing pickleball and snowboarding.