Weekly Flows Show 'USMV' & REIT ETF Outflows
Investors took money off the table on some of the most popular ETFs of the year.
U.S.-listed ETFs continued their streak of gaining assets this week. But while ETFs on the whole garnered inflows, some of the most popular products fell out of favor with investors. In particular, those tied to strategies that perform well in a low-rate environment―such as minimum-volatility and high-dividend products―saw hefty outflows.
In total, U.S.-listed ETFs had inflows of $2.6 billion in the week ending Thursday, Oct. 6. In terms of the major asset classes, U.S. equity ETFs saw an outflow of $1.5 billion; international equity ETFs had inflows of $1.1 billion; and U.S. fixed-income ETFs garnered net inflows of $3 billion.
HYG & AGG Saw Solid Inflows
The most popular individual product of the week was the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG). Its $1.2 billion worth of inflows was well ahead of the No. 2 ETF on the list, the iShares U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG), which had $447 million of inflows of its own.
Meanwhile, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) took the No. 3 position, with inflows of $438 million.
Another fund to make the list was the iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL). QUAL's inflows of $336 million contrasted with another single-factor ETF tied to low-volatility that had hefty outflows, the iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol USA ETF (USMV).
Interestingly, despite gold's plunge this week―spot prices tanked to a four-month low around $1,250 in the period―gold-related ETFs actually had inflows. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and the Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 3x Shares (NUGT) had creations of $362 million and $256 million, respectively.
USMV's Assets Sink
The most interesting fund to make the outflows list was the aforementioned USMV. Its $592 million worth of outflows put a dent in some of the big inflows the low-vol ETF has seen on a year-to-date basis. Perhaps investors are taking money off the table in USMV ahead of a likely Fed rate hike in December.
Likewise, the Vanguard REIT Index Fund (VNQ) and the iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF (IYR), another pair of ETFs that have benefited in the low-rate environment, saw outflows of $543 million and $380 million, respectively, this week.
Finally, the Deutsche Bank FI Enhanced Global High Yield ETN (FIEG) saw the largest decrease in assets on a percentage basis, losing $312 million, or 91% of its AUM.
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
HYG | iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | 1,167.55 | 17,850.20 | 7.00% |
AGG | iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | 447.32 | 41,820.17 | 1.08% |
IEMG | iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | 438.49 | 17,529.94 | 2.57% |
IJR | iShares Core S&P Small Cap ETF | 378.02 | 21,250.63 | 1.81% |
GDX | VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF | 362.41 | 10,196.99 | 3.69% |
QUAL | iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | 336.33 | 3,197.43 | 11.76% |
XLV | Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund | 307.10 | 12,835.06 | 2.45% |
FIHD | UBS AG FI Enhanced Global High Yield ETN | 296.60 | 478.66 | 162.91% |
NUGT | Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 3x Shares | 255.81 | 1,355.11 | 23.27% |
VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund | 245.67 | 64,744.26 | 0.38% |
Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)
Ticker | Name | Net Flows ($,mm) | AUM ($, mm) | AUM % Change |
SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | -1,344.90 | 196,888.97 | -0.68% |
IWM | iShares Russell 2000 ETF | -809.08 | 27,880.44 | -2.82% |
USMV | iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol USA ETF | -592.61 | 13,627.62 | -4.17% |
DIA | SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust | -563.89 | 11,862.46 | -4.54% |
QQQ | PowerShares QQQ Trust | -555.88 | 38,972.06 | -1.41% |
VNQ | Vanguard REIT Index Fund | -543.62 | 32,543.83 | -1.64% |
IYR | iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF | -380.09 | 4,362.88 | -8.01% |
XLY | Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund | -331.29 | 9,248.25 | -3.46% |
FIEG | Deutsche Bank FI Enhanced Global High Yield ETN | -312.47 | 31.55 | -90.83% |
LQD | iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | -304.49 | 32,498.36 | -0.93% |
ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class
Net Flows ($, mm) | AUM ($, mm) | % of AUM | |
U.S. Equity | -1,524.64 | 1,323,088.87 | -0.12% |
International Equity | 1,142.46 | 509,012.65 | 0.23% |
U.S. Fixed Income | 2,989.43 | 409,815.65 | 0.90% |
International Fixed Income | 39.76 | 41,182.71 | 0.10% |
Commodities | -157.78 | 71,609.07 | -0.22% |
Currency | -27.18 | 1,313.20 | -2.05% |
Leveraged | -196.27 | 23,964.92 | -0.83% |
Inverse | 244.42 | 20,285.29 | 1.28% |
Asset Allocation | 3.27 | 6,396.31 | 0.05% |
Alternatives | 39.63 | 4,131.73 | 1.00% |
Total: | 2,553.09 | 2,410,800.38 | 0.11% |
Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM
Ticker | Name | Average Volume (30 Day) | 1 Week Average Volume | % of Average |
CMBS | iShares CMBS ETF | 104,457 | 536,331 | 513.45% |
DBAW | Deutsche X-trackers MSCI All World ex-US Hedged Equity ETF | 14,135 | 46,307 | 327.61% |
DBV | PowerShares DB G10 Currency Harvest Fund | 128,656 | 405,603 | 315.26% |
EWX | SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Small Cap ETF | 111,356 | 409,741 | 367.95% |
WIP | SPDR Citi International Government Inflation-Protected Bond ETF | 79,284 | 282,164 | 355.89% |
IGF | iShares Global Infrastructure ETF | 212,317 | 544,981 | 256.68% |
VBK | Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund | 227,932 | 888,690 | 389.89% |
EPS | WisdomTree Earnings 500 Fund | 3,146 | 6,608 | 210.03% |
ROOF | IQ US Real Estate Small Cap ETF | 28,738 | 79,242 | 275.74% |
DBGR | Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Germany Hedged Equity ETF | 35,497 | 107,514 | 302.88% |
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.