Weekly Flows Show Investors Like 'GLD' & 'VWO' Despite Pullback

Oct 14, 2016

Reviewed by: etf.com Staff

Edited by: etf.com Staff

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.

etf.com Staff

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