Weekly Flows Show Investors Like 'GLD' & 'VWO' Despite Pullback
More than $500 million came into each of the funds this week.
Despite a modest sell-off in stock and bond markets (the S&P 500 briefly hit a three-month low and the 10-year Treasury bond yield hit a four-month high), U.S.-listed ETFs had solid infows this past week. According to FactSet, $5.6 billion entered ETFs in aggregate in the week ending Thursday, Oct. 13.
Of that, $2.5 billion went into U.S. fixed-income ETFs, $1.3 billion went into international equity ETFs and $700 million went into U.S. equity ETFs.
Investors Like GLD Despite Recent Gold Sell-Off
One of the biggest flows winners this week in terms of individual products was the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD). Last week's sell-off in gold clearly didn't dissuade investors from putting more money into GLD, as the fund registered inflows of $562 million in the latest period. Gold prices were close to flat this week just above the $1,250/oz level.
Another popular fund this week was the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO), with inflows of $541 million. Concerns about China reemerged this week following a reported 10% drop in the country's export in September, yet buyers of VWO clearly weren't worried.
On the fixed-income side, the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) and the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) had inflows of $529 million and $437 million, respectively. Bond prices largely sold off this week amid growing speculation that the Fed will hike rates in December, but fixed income continues to be an area ETF investors are plowing their money into, as evidenced by the flows into HYG and LQD.
Europe, Real Estate & Low-Vol ETFs See Outflows
On the other end of the spectrum, the iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU) was a noteworthy loser this past week, with outflows of $398 million. This year, ETF investors continue to shun the Europe-focused funds that they loved last year.
Meanwhile, the iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF (IYR) and the PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF (SPLV) saw outflows of $298 million and $216 million, repsectively. IYR and SPLV are a pair of ETFs that were in vogue for much of the year due to low yields; now that yields are rising, investors are starting to take money off the table when it comes to these and similar products.
For a full list of this week's top inflows and outflows, see the tables below.
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
IWM | iShares Russell 2000 ETF | 847.88 | 28,246.96 | 3.09% |
IVV | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | 790.88 | 79,503.27 | 1.00% |
GLD | SPDR Gold Trust | 562.55 | 38,840.14 | 1.47% |
VWO | Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF | 541.02 | 43,930.17 | 1.25% |
ITOT | iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF | 532.95 | 5,207.64 | 11.40% |
HYG | iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | 528.60 | 18,393.50 | 2.96% |
LQD | iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 437.46 | 32,906.31 | 1.35% |
VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund | 433.61 | 51,278.68 | 0.85% |
BSV | Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund | 377.97 | 19,297.01 | 2.00% |
IEFA | iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF | 337.33 | 13,080.41 | 2.65% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | -1,017.46 | 194,027.56 | -0.52% |
IWB | iShares Russell 1000 ETF | -573.83 | 15,675.29 | -3.53% |
QQQ | PowerShares QQQ Trust | -420.55 | 38,083.91 | -1.09% |
EZU | iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF | -398.10 | 7,007.91 | -5.38% |
IYR | iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF | -298.40 | 4,097.47 | -6.79% |
MDY | SPDR S&P Midcap 400 ETF Trust | -297.40 | 16,625.08 | -1.76% |
JNK | SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond ETF | -273.76 | 12,023.89 | -2.23% |
FEX | First Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund | -228.34 | 1,375.63 | -14.24% |
TLT | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | -227.20 | 6,531.93 | -3.36% |
SPLV | Powershares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio | -216.09 | 6,624.89 | -3.16% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
U.S. Equity | 733.30 | 1,315,778.95 | 0.06% |
International Equity | 1,349.19 | 505,549.33 | 0.27% |
U.S. Fixed Income | 2,507.82 | 410,344.28 | 0.61% |
International Fixed Income | 344.40 | 41,287.96 | 0.83% |
Commodities | 481.69 | 71,033.91 | 0.68% |
Currency | 63.54 | 1,339.57 | 4.74% |
Leveraged | 88.54 | 23,675.92 | 0.37% |
Inverse | -171.17 | 20,376.72 | -0.84% |
Asset Allocation | 62.32 | 6,412.69 | 0.97% |
Alternatives | 104.02 | 3,896.29 | 2.67% |
Total: | 5,563.65 | 2,399,695.61 | 0.23% |
Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM
Ticker | Name | Average Volume (30 Day) | 1 Week Average Volume | % of Average |
HFXI | IQ 50 Percent Hedged FTSE International ETF | 32,279 | 149,030 | 461.70% |
JKG | iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF | 23,435 | 78,509 | 335.00% |
PSCU | PowerShares S&P SmallCap Utilities Portfolio | 21,300 | 54,521 | 255.96% |
VPL | Vanguard FTSE Pacific ETF | 444,332 | 1,087,326 | 244.71% |
LVHD | Legg Mason Low Volatility High Dividend ETF | 33,558 | 85,724 | 255.45% |
FTY | iShares Real Estate 50 ETF | 8,354 | 17,466 | 209.09% |
IPKW | PowerShares International BuyBack Achievers Portfolio | 13,846 | 31,901 | 230.41% |
GRES | IQ Global Resources ETF | 88,386 | 202,748 | 229.39% |
IAT | iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF | 136,635 | 269,844 | 197.49% |
VTWV | Vanguard Russell 2000 Value Index Fund | 7,051 | 11,261 | 159.70% |
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.