Weekly ETF Inflows Eke Out Gains
A $1.3 billion outflow from the leading financials ETF contributed to the slowdown in flows.
Inflows into U.S.-based ETFs slowed by a little more than three-quarters week over week, led primarily by a major slowdown in U.S. equities.
Data from ETF.com provider FactSet showed the U.S. ETF industry saw inflows of $5.54 billion between July 30 and August 5, compared to approximately $23.5 billion in the preceding period. Net inflows have reached $525.9 billion year-to-date.
XLF, Junk Bonds Drop
Inflows fell across most of the asset classes between this week and last, but no drop was more pronounced than in U.S. equities. The class that has mainly driven this year’s record-breaking bull run into ETFs dropped from roughly $10.5 billion in inflows last week to just $622 million this week.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) led outflows with $1.7 billion in the period during a week where the S&P 500 slipped early in the week before recovering to almost flat as of the close on Thursday.
Investors also exited positions on the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) to the tune of $1.3 billion, and took out a combined $1.8 billion from the corporate junk bond funds SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY) and iShares iBoxx USD High-Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG).
It’s difficult to pin the movements of fund flows to one single event, especially as XLF’s average daily volume makes it useful as a short-term tactical play. However, it’s likely that the flattening yield curve spooked some investors out of those ETFs.
Bonds Lead Inflows
While the U.S. fixed income sector slowed by approximately $2.3 billion week-over-week, bond ETFs were the most prevalent in inflows during the week.
The Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV) was tops, pulling in just under $1.3 billion, while the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) followed, with nearly $1.2 billion in inflows. The iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP) and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (VTI) also appeared in the week’s top 10 funds with a combined $1.5 billion.
KWEB: A YOLO Trade?
Finally, the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB) appeared on the top 10 inflows list with roughly $5.7 billion coming into the fund.
Financial news-watchers may be scratching their heads at those flows, considering the fund has posted losses of 26% in the past 30 days after a string of tech crackdowns from Beijing.
In the past several weeks, Chinese officials have levied a $3 billion fine against e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba Group, ordered security reviews on ridesharing app developer Didi after its U.S. listing, and raised broader questions about the government’s involvement in the private sector there.
It appears retail traders drove a “buy the dip” strategy in late June, with volumes peaking above 20 million shares daily before coming down to around 5 million or so per day this week.
For a full list of this week’s top inflows and outflows, see the tables below:
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
BSV | Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF | 1,259.46 | 40,763.14 | 3.09% |
IEF | iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF | 1,180.72 | 14,940.16 | 7.90% |
VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 1,088.96 | 244,778.73 | 0.44% |
TIP | iShares TIPS Bond ETF | 791.36 | 32,090.40 | 2.47% |
VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 722.18 | 261,175.62 | 0.28% |
TLT | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | 693.51 | 17,471.17 | 3.97% |
XLU | Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund | 577.04 | 12,882.05 | 4.48% |
KWEB | KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF | 556.12 | 5,265.12 | 10.56% |
IXUS | iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF | 430.18 | 30,562.42 | 1.41% |
IWF | iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF | 365.82 | 73,021.63 | 0.50% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | -1,710.57 | 380,875.11 | -0.45% |
XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | -1,333.92 | 38,677.81 | -3.45% |
SDY | SPDR S&P Dividend ETF | -985.13 | 19,498.24 | -5.05% |
HYG | iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | -847.99 | 19,030.40 | -4.46% |
QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust | -741.68 | 183,113.66 | -0.41% |
SPYD | SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF | -503.57 | 4,628.67 | -10.88% |
SPHD | Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF | -491.51 | 2,988.04 | -16.45% |
SOXL | Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares | -488.78 | 4,068.18 | -12.01% |
IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | -463.80 | 295,383.14 | -0.16% |
SCHO | Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF | -392.36 | 9,012.46 | -4.35% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
U.S. Equity | 622.66 | 3,885,641.23 | 0.02% |
International Equity | 2,365.33 | 1,290,212.93 | 0.18% |
U.S. Fixed Income | 2,868.60 | 1,066,204.74 | 0.27% |
International Fixed Income | 517.44 | 147,696.79 | 0.35% |
Commodities | -104.11 | 142,626.56 | -0.07% |
Currency | 5.18 | 1,980.76 | 0.26% |
Leveraged | -1,173.12 | 61,485.24 | -1.91% |
Inverse | 270.51 | 11,701.40 | 2.31% |
Asset Allocation | 97.48 | 17,420.83 | 0.56% |
Alternatives | 70.41 | 6,492.33 | 1.08% |
Total: | 5,540.38 | 6,631,462.82 | 0.08% |
Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)
Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
U.S. Equity | 238,883.58 | 3,885,641.23 | 6.15% |
International Equity | 153,361.50 | 1,290,212.93 | 11.89% |
U.S. Fixed Income | 100,368.39 | 1,066,204.74 | 9.41% |
International Fixed Income | 25,281.60 | 147,696.79 | 17.12% |
Commodities | -1,495.43 | 142,626.56 | -1.05% |
Currency | 95.27 | 1,980.76 | 4.81% |
Leveraged | -246.17 | 61,485.24 | -0.40% |
Inverse | 4,523.96 | 11,701.40 | 38.66% |
Asset Allocation | 2,981.74 | 17,420.83 | 17.12% |
Alternatives | 2,151.63 | 6,492.33 | 33.14% |
Total: | 525,906.07 | 6,631,462.82 | 7.93% |
Top 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded
Ticker | Name | Weekly Performance | Weekly Volume | AUM ($, mm) |
GERM | ETFMG Treatments Testing and Advancements ETF | 8.28% | 88,498 | 61.84 |
CHB | Global X China Biotech Innovation ETF | 6.38% | 5,232 | 6.57 |
GAZ | iPath Series B Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex Total Return ETN | 6.02% | 13,613 | 6.45 |
UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund LP | 5.89% | 7,894,986 | 286.94 |
RIGZ | Viridi Cleaner Energy Crypto-Mining & Semiconductor ETF | 5.71% | 57,659 | 4.77 |
CHIH | Global X MSCI China Health Care ETF | 5.44% | 40,247 | 19.94 |
BDRY | Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF | 5.39% | 517,164 | 88.79 |
HELX | Franklin Genomic Advancements ETF | 5.30% | 18,253 | 22.36 |
BBH | VanEck Vectors Biotech ETF | 5.13% | 75,634 | 618.50 |
DAPP | VanEck Vectors Digital Transformation ETF | 5.04% | 84,889 | 33.92 |
Top 10 YTD Performers
Ticker | Name | YTD Performance | Weekly Performance | AUM ($, mm) |
BDRY | Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF | 253.12% | 5.39% | 88.79 |
ILCV | iShares Morningstar Value ETF | 134.10% | -0.24% | 741.36 |
JJT | iPath Series B Bloomberg Tin Subindex Total Return ETN | 91.24% | -0.58% | 15.27 |
GRN | iPath Series B Carbon ETN | 71.52% | 4.22% | 67.44 |
REMX | VanEck Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF | 68.47% | 1.98% | 965.21 |
MLPO | Credit Suisse S&P MLP Index ETN | 65.37% | 8.88% | 22.36 |
UNG | United States Natural Gas Fund LP | 58.37% | 5.89% | 286.94 |
FCG | First Trust Natural Gas ETF | 53.98% | -4.39% | 238.36 |
GAZ | iPath Series B Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex Total Return ETN | 53.81% | 6.02% | 6.45 |
PXE | Invesco Dynamic Energy Exploration & Production ETF | 52.19% | -4.00% | 75.42 |
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.