Weekly ETF Outflows Hit $3.7B

Despite stock market gains, ETF demand sees rare retreat.

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Reviewed by: Sumit Roy
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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 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.