Weekly ETF Outflows Hit $3.7B

Jan 25, 2019

Reviewed by: Sumit Roy

Edited by: Sumit Roy

U.S. stocks headed for their fifth-consecutive week of gains, but ETF investors took it as an opportunity to take chips off the table. They pulled a net $3.7 billion from U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds during the holiday-shortened week, taking advantage of relatively high share prices to sell, with many uncertainties still lingering.

Even after the outflows during the week ending Thursday, Jan. 24, inflows for the year as a whole remained positive, at $4.7 billion.

Equity ETFs Lose Assets

U.S. equity and international equity ETFs had the biggest outflows during the latest week. About $4.1 billion and $490 million, respectively, came out of funds tied to those asset classes.

The Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF), the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) and the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA) were among the biggest flows losers during the week.

Though the U.S. government shutdown is scheduled to end temporarily in the coming days, global slowdown and trade concerns haven’t gone away.

Those concerns fueled continued demand for fixed-income ETFs. U.S. and international fixed-income ETFs had combined weekly inflows of more than $520 million.

Huge inflows for the Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH), the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCIT) and the iShares MBS ETF (MBB) offset sizable outflows from the Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV), the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) and the iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG).

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
VCSH	Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF	2,859.77	23,182.92	12.34%
VCIT	Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF	1,788.04	20,688.00	8.64%
MBB	iShares MBS ETF	889.78	13,712.69	6.49%
IEMG	iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF	650.14	54,348.65	1.20%
GLD	SPDR Gold Trust	500.79	33,310.73	1.50%
EMB	iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF	434.60	16,117.58	2.70%
USMV	iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol U.S.A. ETF	334.98	20,707.87	1.62%
TLT	iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF	298.43	9,738.62	3.06%
IJR	iShares Core S&P Small Cap ETF	225.64	40,912.84	0.55%
TIP	iShares TIPS Bond ETF	219.40	21,549.92	1.02%

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

Ticker	Name	Net Flows ($,mm)	AUM ($, mm)	AUM % Change
BSV	Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF	-3,119.60	24,129.46	-12.93%
BIV	Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF	-1,464.45	11,523.18	-12.71%
HYG	iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF	-807.80	13,915.23	-5.81%
XLF	Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund	-544.96	23,788.55	-2.29%
XLE	Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund	-501.43	13,271.78	-3.78%
VEA	Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF	-486.88	67,775.35	-0.72%
VYM	Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF	-470.06	21,785.39	-2.16%
ACWX	iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF	-467.02	4,044.56	-11.55%
QQQ	Invesco QQQ Trust	-464.71	63,266.33	-0.73%
IEFA	iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF	-457.60	54,433.15	-0.84%

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

	Net Flows ($, mm)	AUM ($, mm)	% of AUM
U.S. Equity	-4,118.31	1,985,669.82	-0.21%
International Equity	-492.57	773,429.09	-0.06%
U.S. Fixed Income	62.13	605,375.78	0.01%
International Fixed Income	460.68	68,501.33	0.67%
Commodities	654.18	64,759.26	1.01%
Currency	-32.28	1,625.70	-1.99%
Leveraged	-185.29	32,923.48	-0.56%
Inverse	75.56	12,354.99	0.61%
Asset Allocation	-109.43	9,428.37	-1.16%
Alternatives	-53.93	5,197.51	-1.04%
Total:	-3,739.25	3,559,265.33	-0.11%

Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)

	Net Flows ($, mm)	AUM ($, mm)	% of AUM
U.S. Equity	-13,882.92	1,985,669.82	-0.70%
International Equity	3,787.36	773,429.09	0.49%
U.S. Fixed Income	10,627.13	605,375.78	1.76%
International Fixed Income	2,094.78	68,501.33	3.06%
Commodities	1,326.43	64,759.26	2.05%
Currency	-178.67	1,625.70	-10.99%
Leveraged	-797.04	32,923.48	-2.42%
Inverse	1,813.17	12,354.99	14.68%
Asset Allocation	-228.92	9,428.37	-2.43%
Alternatives	142.27	5,197.51	2.74%
Total:	4,703.58	3,559,265.33	0.13%

Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM

Ticker	Name	Average Volume (30 Day)	1 Week Average Volume	% of Average
HSRT	Hartford Short Duration ETF	228	1,347	591.08%
GIGB	Goldman Sachs Access Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF	59,423	342,289	576.02%
VXXB	iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN	1,143,261	4,036,456	353.07%
HOLD	AdvisorShares Sage Core Reserves ETF	2,939	10,340	351.82%
PSC	Principal U.S. Small-Cap Multi-Factor Index ETF	10,427	30,714	294.56%
CSB	VictoryShares U.S. Small Cap High Div Volatility Wtd ETF	22,199	60,539	272.71%
IAGG	iShares Core International Aggregate Bond ETF	226,498	595,768	263.03%
DGRE	WisdomTree Emerging Markets Quality Dividend Growth Fund	30,506	77,987	255.64%
PEJ	Invesco Dynamic Leisure and Entertainment ETF	11,761	27,756	236.00%
PIE	Invesco DWA Emerging Markets Momentum ETF	95,451	192,643	201.82%

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

| Contact: [email protected]

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.

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Weekly ETF Outflows Hit $3.7B

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