ETFs Notch Another $24B

The U.S. ETF industry added just over $24 billion in fresh assets last week, shaking off another year-over-year inflation reading above 7% and continuing tensions in Eastern Europe. 

U.S.-listed ETFs have posted inflows of just under $81.5 billion year-to-date, according to ETF.com data provider FactSet, and manage $6.9 trillion. 

Split Of The S&P 500 Funds Continue 

The largest S&P 500 trackers continued to split. The cheap-beta iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) led all funds by inflows, with a fresh $5.7 billion in assets, followed by the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) at $4.6 billion and a rare large inflow for the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPLG), of $782.6 million. 

SPLG, which tracks the S&P 500 at a cost of 3 basis points, tends to be overshadowed by its older brother, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). However, SPY continued to bleed assets, with a $1.5 billion outflow on the week, and more than $22.3 billion in outflows year-to-date. 

The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) had the largest outflows on the week, losing just over $3.5 billion in assets, as the high inflation print puts more pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. 

Defensive Plays Abound 

Risk-off strategies took in billions last week, with the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) adding $4.7 billion and the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) adding $1.8 billion. The inflows to those funds suggest some investors are less optimistic that growth stocks will continue to appreciate in value. 

Short-term bonds were also popular, with the Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH) and the iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) adding $1.6 billion and $785 million, respectively. 

However, the SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) lost $941.6 million in the period. 

Corporate Bonds, TIPS Sell Off 

The U.S. fixed income class was the only asset class to lose ETF assets on the week, with outflows of $3.9 billion, and corporate bonds took the brunt of the losses. 

The iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) and the iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) lost approximately $4 billion combined as credit spreads widen. The ICE BofA US High Yield Index Option-Adjusted Spread Index has spiked 55 basis points since the start of the year to 3.66%, while its investment-grade counterpart has added 10 points. 

Inflation-protected Treasury funds also appeared among the largest losers for the week, mirroring a January slide for the largest TIPS fund. The Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF (VTIP) and the iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP) lost a combined $2 billion in the period. 

The combined sell-off is curious. TIP and similar funds with high effective durations were selling off in January due to their exposure to rate-hike risk, but VTIP’s 2.5-year duration is among the lowest in the U.S. 

For a full list of last week’s top inflows and outflows, see the tables below: 

Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)

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

Top 10 YTD Performers

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.