Big Bet On Low Vol ETF 'SPLV'

May 21, 2021

Reviewed by: etf.com Staff

Edited by: etf.com Staff

Inflows into ETFs continued to chug along at a steady pace this week as markets consolidated. About $11.6 billion entered U.S.-listed ETFs during the week ending Thursday, May 20, bringing year-to-date inflows up to $369.4 billion. That compares favorably with the $131 billion that flowed into ETFs by this same time a year ago.

This week, U.S. fixed income ETFs took the lead, with creations of $5.3 billion. That was followed by the $3.4 billion and $1.1 billion that went into international equity ETFs and U.S. equity ETFs, respectively.

After an early-week dip in prices, stocks rebounded thanks to a resurgence in the beaten-down high-growth areas of the market. Funds like the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) and the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) bounced notably off their lows of last week as investors scoured for bargains.

That said, those names didn’t make an appearance on the top inflows list of the week. Rather, ETF investors continued to focus their firepower on the cheaper areas of the market that have been working for most of 2021.

The Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF (SPLV), the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) and the JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF (BBEU) each made the top 10 weekly inflows list.

SPLV’s inflows in particular were noteworthy, pushing assets in the fund to their highest level since March 2020. Consumer staples and health care—two noncyclical sectors—make up nearly half of SPLV’s low-vol portfolio.

Outflows For ‘QQQ’

On the other hand, despite the rebound in prices, ETF investors lightened up on some of their “growthier” funds. The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) and the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) each had outflows of more than $250 million during the week.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) finished the week with the largest outflow—$9.3 billion. This is the fourth year in a row in which SPY has seen net outflows.

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
SPLV	Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF	2,094.52	10,036.20	20.87%
IWM	iShares Russell 2000 ETF	1,343.55	65,542.81	2.05%
XLF	Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund	1,193.86	44,160.53	2.70%
VOO	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF	1,037.74	220,035.71	0.47%
VTI	Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF	873.15	237,112.07	0.37%
GLD	SPDR Gold Trust	760.39	62,955.04	1.21%
IEFA	iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF	723.79	94,507.12	0.77%
BBEU	JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF	704.18	7,144.80	9.86%
JNK	SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF	673.70	9,849.34	6.84%
VGK	Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF	645.50	18,081.10	3.57%

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

Ticker	Name	Net Flows ($,mm)	AUM ($, mm)	AUM % Change
SPY	SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust	-9,328.37	349,542.88	-2.67%
QQQ	Invesco QQQ Trust	-1,835.71	153,766.00	-1.19%
XBI	SPDR S&P Biotech ETF	-673.17	6,586.86	-10.22%
XLU	Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund	-509.32	11,674.36	-4.36%
IJH	iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF	-438.44	63,200.08	-0.69%
SPIB	SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF	-371.57	6,413.38	-5.79%
XOP	SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF	-326.04	3,750.78	-8.69%
IEF	iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF	-307.94	13,189.34	-2.33%
GSLC	Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF	-284.77	12,130.05	-2.35%
IGV	iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF	-253.95	4,684.13	-5.42%

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

	Net Flows ($, mm)	AUM ($, mm)	% of AUM
U.S. Equity	1,087.66	3,589,203.03	0.03%
International Equity	3,370.22	1,228,439.60	0.27%
U.S. Fixed Income	5,268.35	1,011,856.00	0.52%
International Fixed Income	773.60	137,210.74	0.56%
Commodities	1,402.94	144,556.66	0.97%
Currency	7.26	1,778.99	0.41%
Leveraged	-40.39	55,074.98	-0.07%
Inverse	-146.69	11,787.30	-1.24%
Asset Allocation	10.20	15,463.23	0.07%
Alternatives	-111.51	6,315.65	-1.77%
Total:	11,621.66	6,201,686.18	0.19%

Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)

	Net Flows ($, mm)	AUM ($, mm)	% of AUM
U.S. Equity	171,878.93	3,589,203.03	4.79%
International Equity	110,994.62	1,228,439.60	9.04%
U.S. Fixed Income	64,125.27	1,011,856.00	6.34%
International Fixed Income	16,786.34	137,210.74	12.23%
Commodities	-3,275.82	144,556.66	-2.27%
Currency	-128.59	1,778.99	-7.23%
Leveraged	3,114.29	55,074.98	5.65%
Inverse	2,854.62	11,787.30	24.22%
Asset Allocation	1,426.97	15,463.23	9.23%
Alternatives	1,607.40	6,315.65	25.45%
Total:	369,384.03	6,201,686.18	5.96%

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

Ticker	Name	Weekly Performance	Weekly Volume	AUM ($, mm)
VIXY	ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF	9.36%	76,014,190	330.36
BDRY	Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF	6.54%	2,773,692	109.60
VXX	iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN	6.22%	123,587,366	1,175.40
SLVP	iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF	5.79%	872,834	345.77
KGRN	KraneShares MSCI China Clean Technology Index ETF	5.76%	313,535	129.19
VXZ	iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN	5.66%	63,942	40.28
MLPO	Credit Suisse S&P MLP Index ETN	5.53%	5,250	23.33
SILJ	ETFMG Prime Junior Silver Miners ETF	5.18%	10,320,928	999.66
SPXZ	Morgan Creek - Exos SPAC Originated ETF	4.84%	57,804	22.02
VIXM	ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF	4.70%	377,928	96.89

Top 10 YTD Performers

Ticker	Name	YTD Performance	Weekly Performance	AUM ($, mm)
BDRY	Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF	217.53%	6.54%	109.60
ILCV	iShares Morningstar Value ETF	129.49%	-1.63%	714.04
JJT	iPath Series B Bloomberg Tin Subindex Total Return ETN	61.95%	3.04%	8.45
FCG	First Trust Natural Gas ETF	61.57%	-0.28%	210.15
PXE	Invesco Dynamic Energy Exploration & Production ETF	60.59%	0.37%	67.72
PSCE	Invesco S&P SmallCap Energy ETF	58.84%	0.14%	159.59
MLPO	Credit Suisse S&P MLP Index ETN	55.30%	5.53%	23.33
URNM	North Shore Global Uranium Mining ETF	52.68%	1.16%	318.87
GRN	iPath Series B Carbon ETN	51.54%	-13.34%	53.26
PXI	Invesco DWA Energy Momentum ETF	50.49%	-1.78%	163.90

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.

etf.com Staff

| Contact: [email protected]

View Bio Follow Author

Big Bet On Low Vol ETF 'SPLV'

Related Stories

Related Topics

More From etf.com Staff