ETF Flows Hit $320B As 'TLT' Tops List

Inflows into the Treasury bond ETF helped propel 2017 ETF inflows to a new record high.

sumit
|
Reviewed by: Sumit Roy
,
Edited by: Sumit Roy

[Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article contained an error in a performance table. It will be republished when it has been corrected.]

Record highs in the stock market went hand in hand with record highs for ETF inflows this week. The S&P 500 reached just shy of 2,500 for the first time, while investors added $11.6 billion to U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds during the week ending Thursday, Sept. 14.

Year-to-date inflows now stand at $319.9 billion, according to FactSet data, which is a fresh annual record.

Once again, inflows were distributed across the spectrum. U.S. equity ETFs picked up $5.6 billion during the latest week; international equity ETFs picked up $2.5 billion; and U.S. fixed-income ETFs picked up $3.3 billion.

'TLT' On Top 
Finding itself atop the weekly inflows list for a second-straight week was the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT). Investors added $1.3 billion to the fund as Treasury bonds whipsawed during the period; the U.S. 10-year yield fell as low as 2.03% before spiking to 2.2% by week's end (bond prices and yields move inversely). 

The iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEI), with its $510 million worth of inflows, and the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCIT), with inflows of $380 million, were the only other fixed-income products in the top 10.

Meanwhile, after a short hiatus, two emerging market ETFs made an appearance on the list this week. The Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) had inflows of more than $440 million apiece during the week.

On the flip side, notable names on the outflist list included the ProShares UltraPro S&P 500 (UPRO), the ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY), the iShares MSCI Germany ETF (EWG), the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) and the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (HEWG)

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
TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF 1,259.33 9,407.17 15.46%
VO Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF 852.53 20,603.22 4.32%
IEFA iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF 634.08 35,081.32 1.84%
IEI iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF 510.18 8,220.70 6.62%
VWO Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF 454.72 63,678.12 0.72%
VB Vanguard Small-Cap ETF 449.12 19,798.12 2.32%
IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF 424.03 37,740.80 1.14%
XLF Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund 395.69 25,169.37 1.60%
VCIT Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF 379.59 17,075.34 2.27%
VBK Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF 377.14 6,678.80 5.98%

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

Ticker Name Net Flows ($,mm) AUM ($, mm) AUM % Change
LQD iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF -689.09 37,338.95 -1.81%
IJH iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF -384.78 39,106.46 -0.97%
SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust -312.77 245,992.67 -0.13%
UPRO ProShares UltraPro S&P500 -229.83 907.92 -20.20%
IWF iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF -200.99 36,746.62 -0.54%
SVXY ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF -189.74 1,369.49 -12.17%
EWG iShares MSCI Germany ETF -172.17 4,739.17 -3.51%
HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF -158.32 18,453.71 -0.85%
DXJ WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund -156.00 7,956.85 -1.92%
HEWG iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF -153.67 661.41 -18.85%

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

  Net Flows ($, mm) AUM ($, mm) % of AUM
U.S. Equity 5,575.18 1,730,827.86 0.32%
International Equity 2,454.27 730,575.84 0.34%
U.S. Fixed Income 3,319.00 503,353.96 0.66%
International Fixed Income 99.02 54,695.36 0.18%
Commodities ETFs 208.70 66,809.95 0.31%
Currency -12.12 1,448.70 -0.84%
Leveraged -261.66 29,394.46 -0.89%
Inverse -44.03 18,416.46 -0.24%
Asset Allocation 16.46 7,491.67 0.22%
Alternatives 211.00 4,129.94 5.11%
Total: 11,565.80 3,147,144.20 0.37%

Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM

Ticker Name Average Volume
(30 Day)
1 Week Average
Volume
% of Average
HAWX iShares Currency Hedged MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF 15,078 52,101 345.55%
STIP iShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF 54,988 139,848 254.32%
IYH iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF 54,231 147,155 271.35%
FDT First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX Fund 74,066 176,498 238.30%
GNR SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF 96,135 211,452 219.95%
IYG iShares US Financial Services ETF 76,380 162,390 212.61%
INP iPath MSCI India Index ETN 5,982 12,844 214.70%
CHAD Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bear 1X Shares 9,356 17,997 192.37%
FNK First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund 15,709 52,798 336.11%
JHMT John Hancock Multifactor Technology ETF 5,029 7,963 158.35%

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.