A Whopping $20B Flows Into ETFs

Investors plowed a whopping $20 billion into U.S.-listed ETFs this week, a reflection of growing confidence in the outlook for economic growth and corporate profits. In a week in which the S&P 500 hit a record high for the first time in 14 months, investors scooped up everything from U.S. stocks to emerging market stocks to junk bonds, while shunning gold and safe-haven Treasurys.

All told, in the week ending Thursday, July 14, U.S. equity ETFs had inflows of $13.7 billion; international equity ETFs had inflows of $1 billion; U.S. fixed-income ETFs had inflows of $3.9 billion; and international fixed-income ETFs had inflows of $670 million. The only segments to see outflows were commodities and currencies.

Broad US, Emerging Market & Corporate Bond ETFs Favored

With investors stampeding into equities, they bought heavily into the world's largest and most liquid ETF offering equity exposure, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY | A-97). SPY's $7.2 billion in inflows was well ahead of the No. 2 fund on the list, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM | A-91). IWM, another large and liquid ETF, offers exposure to small-caps and had inflows of $1.5 billion.

The tech-heavy PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQ | A-66) was another favorite among investors seeking broad access to U.S. stocks in an ETF wrapper, with inflows of $897 million.

Outside those broad, U.S. equity ETFs, the biggest flows winners focused on corporate bonds. The iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD | A-77) garnered inflows of $1.4 billion; the SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond ETF (JNK | C-68) had inflows of $966 million; and the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG | B-68) saw inflows of $888 million.

Meanwhile, it's also worth mentioning the $1.5 billion in total that flowed into two emerging market ETFs this week. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM | B-100) and its lower-cost sister fund, the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG | A-99), benefited from investors' willingness to take on more risk this week. 

Safe-Haven ETFs Fall Out Of Favor

On the other end of the spectrum, commodity ETFs were the biggest losers of the week, due to a $672 million outflow from the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD | A-100). Until now, the world's largest gold ETF had seen week after week of steady inflows, but investors decided to finally take profits on the fund as stocks hit record highs and interest rates on Treasury bonds jumped from rock-bottom levels. 

The U.S. 10-year bond yield increased from a low of 1.32% last week to as high as 1.6% this week. On the other hand, gold fell as low as $1,320/oz this week, down from a high of $1,375 last week.

The spike in interest rates also pushed utilities and Treasury bond ETFs out of favor. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU | A-89) had outflows of $383 million, while the iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY | A-97) had redemptions of $298 million and the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT | A-83) leaked $283 million.

One other safe-haven ETF to see notable outflows in the week was the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP | A-91), with weekly redemptions of $548 million, second only to GLD.

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.