Weekly Flows Show 'USMV' & REIT ETF Outflows

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)

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM

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.