Weekly Outflows For ETFs Despite ‘SUSL’

Record launch for ESG fund didn't prevent U.S.-listed ETFs from registering net outflows this week.

TwitterTwitterTwitter
sumit
|
Senior ETF Analyst
|
Reviewed by: Sumit Roy
,
Edited by: Sumit Roy

For the second week in a row, investors pulled cash out of U.S.-listed ETFs. Just over $3.7 billion exited the space during the week ending Thursday, May 16, as trade war concerns continued to weigh on markets.

After the latest flows figures, year-to-date inflows fell further behind last year’s levels, dipping to $67.2 billion, compared with $108.5 billion at the same time in 2018.

Equity ETFs Shed Assets

This week’s outflows were fairly evenly divided between U.S. equity ETFs (-$2.7 billion) and international equity ETFs (-$2.3 billion). The S&P 500 briefly dipped to the 2,800 level on Monday, falling more than 5% below its all-time high amid back-and-forth trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

Currently, the two sides are locked in a stalemate after President Trump raised tariffs on China last Friday, and the Asian nation quickly retaliated with more tariffs of its own.

U.S. equity ETFs like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) faced the brunt of this week’s outflows, while international equity ETFs such as the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) and the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) also suffered.

Low Rates Spur Inflows

On the other hand, fixed income ETFs benefited from the trade uncertainty. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell close to its lowest levels of the year, below 2.4%, and U.S. fixed income ETFs picked up $2.6 billion in fresh assets.

The iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG), the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) and the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) led fixed income inflows.

Biggest Launch In 15 Years

Finally, this flows recap would not be complete without mention of the breakout ETF star of the week, the iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF (SUSL). The ESG fund launched late last week with a whopping $847 million in assets, making it the biggest ETF launch of the past 15 years.

Read more about SUSL here and here.

For a full list of this week’s top inflows and outflows, see the tables below.

Contact Sumit Roy a [email protected]

 

Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)

TickerNameNet Flows ($,mm)AUM ($, mm)AUM % Change
SUSLiShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF847.06850.3199.62%
AGGiShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF804.5860,860.471.32%
IVViShares Core S&P 500 ETF746.14174,016.430.43%
BNDVanguard Total Bond Market ETF631.8938,953.121.62%
XLVHealth Care Select Sector SPDR Fund605.8818,532.213.27%
SPLVInvesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF498.1010,990.894.53%
QQQInvesco QQQ Trust489.5271,909.340.68%
TLTiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF350.4512,761.172.75%
GOVTiShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF334.4810,392.743.22%
IEFAiShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF326.0762,989.830.52%

 

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

TickerNameNet Flows ($,mm)AUM ($, mm)AUM % Change
SPYSPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust-4,833.28259,525.15-1.86%
EEMiShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF-1,191.3132,180.22-3.70%
XLFFinancial Select Sector SPDR Fund-1,176.6824,047.95-4.89%
EMBiShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF-925.3514,483.34-6.39%
XLPConsumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund-566.9911,004.88-5.15%
VOOVanguard S&P 500 ETF-535.31110,065.44-0.49%
JNKSPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF-492.688,701.51-5.66%
EWJiShares MSCI Japan ETF-386.1512,980.71-2.97%
DIASPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust-372.3821,291.15-1.75%
XLCCommunication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund-354.855,302.05-6.69%

 

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

 Net Flows ($, mm)AUM ($, mm)% of AUM
U.S. Equity-2,725.522,169,173.23-0.13%
International Equity-2,280.39807,574.39-0.28%
U.S. Fixed Income2,615.70647,351.870.40%
International Fixed Income-767.3373,018.80-1.05%
Commodities -428.4261,612.26-0.70%
Currency18.081,465.241.23%
Leveraged-15.7136,687.36-0.04%
Inverse32.9911,694.320.28%
Asset Allocation49.489,517.340.52%
Alternatives-212.594,684.27-4.54%
Total:-3,713.713,822,779.09-0.10%

 

Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)

 Net Flows ($, mm)AUM ($, mm)% of AUM
U.S. Equity15,861.012,169,173.230.73%
International Equity10,203.66807,574.391.26%
U.S. Fixed Income38,337.69647,351.875.92%
International Fixed Income5,427.0173,018.807.43%
Commodities -2,929.4661,612.26-4.75%
Currency-319.321,465.24-21.79%
Leveraged-1,975.9536,687.36-5.39%
Inverse2,459.9911,694.3221.04%
Asset Allocation-479.829,517.34-5.04%
Alternatives608.544,684.2712.99%
Total:67,193.363,822,779.091.76%

 

Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM

TickerNameAverage Volume
(30 Day)
1 Week Average
Volume
% of Average

DIVC

C-Tracks ETN - Miller/Howard Strategic Dividend Reinvestor

79

391

494.39%

PSCPrincipal U.S. Small-Cap Multi-Factor Index ETF2,92010,667365.32%
QMOMAlpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Momentum ETF19,45565,862338.53%
DALTAnfield Capital Diversified Alternatives ETF23,43685,459364.64%
QVALAlpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Value ETF12,10835,343291.90%
FXGFirst Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX Fund55,703165,557297.22%
DGTSPDR Global Dow ETF2,4416,768277.24%
JPMBJPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Sovereign Bond ETF2,5165,937236.01%
IMOMAlpha Architect International Quantitative Momentum ETF6,42114,692228.82%
STOTSPDR DoubleLine Short Duration Total Return Tactical ETF16,72738,245228.65%

 

 

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.

Sumit Roy is the senior ETF analyst for etf.com, where he has worked for 13 years. He creates a variety of content for the platform, including news articles, analysis pieces, videos and podcasts.

Before joining etf.com, Sumit was the managing editor and commodities analyst for Hard Assets Investor. In those roles, he was responsible for most of the operations of HAI, a website dedicated to education about commodities investing.

Though he still closely follows the commodities beat, Sumit covers a much broader assortment of topics for etf.com, with a particular focus on stock and bond exchange-traded funds.

He is the host of etf.com’s Talk ETFs, a popular video series that features weekly interviews with thought leaders in the ETF industry. Sumit is also co-host of Exchange Traded Fridays, etf.com’s weekly podcast series.

He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he enjoys climbing the city’s steep hills, playing chess and snowboarding in Lake Tahoe.

Loading