Large-Cap Blend Surges as Tech Sees Broad Outflows

Vanguard led all issuers in absolute terms with $14.81B of net inflows on the day, extending a stretch that has produced $28.49B over five days and $90.14B over 30 days, keeping its YTD haul near $419.62B. State Street’s SPDR lineup also gathered $3.08B on the day even though its 30-day trend remains slightly negative at ($2.07B), a reminder of how single large flows can offset weaker recent trends. iShares was the clear laggard in dollar terms, shedding ($14.69B) on the day and ($25.25B) over five days, though its YTD figure of $226.21B shows the outflow is a short-term deviation rather than a trend reversal. Among smaller issuers, iM stood out both in absolute inflows ($487.1M) and relative terms (10.24% of its $4.76B AUM), while Tradr posted the steepest relative outflow at -7.93% of AUM alongside Alpha Architect’s $401.3M absolute redemption.

Total industry flows came in at $3.92B for the day, a pullback from the $15.93B five-day pace and well behind the $149.30B logged over the trailing 30 days. Equity dominated the daily tally with $5.19B of inflows, keeping pace with its $869.99B YTD and $1,292.90B one-year totals, while Fixed Income slipped into net outflows of ($366.8M) despite a $6.43B five-day gain and $450.96B YTD accumulation. Commodity ($433.1M) and Non-Traditional ($720.3M) categories also registered outflows on the day, contrasting with their positive 30-day and YTD trends of $8.56B/$6.44B and $9.44B/$77.12B respectively. At the category level, U.S. Large Cap – Blend equity funds pulled in $5.61B, dwarfing other leaders like Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Long ($1.26B) and U.S. Large Cap – Growth ($870.8M), while Sector – Information Technology led outflows at ($1.53B), followed by Fixed Income: Taxable – Corporate ($1.45B) and High Yield ($1.06B).

Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF (VOO) topped U.S. size and style inflows with $13.83B, followed by State Street’s SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) at $3.98B, both pointing to concentrated large-cap blend demand. Smaller gains came from Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) at $487.3M and iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) at $474.7M. On the outflow side, iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) saw the largest single-day redemption at ($14.05B), far exceeding other laggards such as State Street’s SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) at ($260.4M) and Capital Group Dividend Value ETF (CGDV) at ($172.1M).

Ex-U.S. size and style flows were modest by comparison, led by the Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (IDEQ) at $39.5M and Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF (AVEM) at $33.1M. Additional inflows came from Xtrackers Bloomberg Developed Markets ex US Equity ETF (DMXU) at $25.2M and Invesco RAFI Developed Markets ex-U.S. ETF (PXF) at $23.7M. On the losing side, Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund (VEU) led redemptions at ($219.6M), followed by iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (IXUS) at ($86.8M).

Sector flows favored defensive and cyclical exposures, with State Street’s Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) gathering $157.4M and the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) adding $127.0M. Fidelity’s MSCI Health Care Index ETF (FHLC) and State Street’s Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) also posted inflows above $110M. Technology-related exposure faced the heaviest pressure, as iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) lost ($827.5M) and VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) shed ($476.2M), consistent with the broader Sector – Information Technology category outflow of ($1.53B) for the day.

Regional flows were comparatively light, led by Vanguard’s FTSE Pacific ETF (VPL) at $46.9M and Franklin’s FTSE Japan Hedged ETF (FLJH) at $27.3M, with iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT) adding $21.9M. The largest country-specific outflow came from iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) at ($333.3M), well ahead of iShares MSCI Australia ETF (EWA) at ($52.4M) and iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF (EWH) at ($20.4M), aligning with the broader Region – Country Specific category outflow of ($402.3M).

Thematic flows were led by the KraneShares Public-Private AI & Technology ETF (AGIX), which drew $213.9M, alongside State Street’s SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF (GNR) at $64.9M and VanEck’s Digital Transformation ETF (DAPP) at $36.0M. On the outflow side, iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) lost ($48.5M) and First Trust’s RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR) shed ($36.8M), with State Street’s SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) close behind at ($33.9M).

Fixed Income overall posted a modest daily outflow of ($366.8M) despite a $6.43B five-day gain, as duration-focused funds drew demand while credit products saw redemptions. iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) led inflows with $928.7M, followed by iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) at $607.9M and iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) at $237.0M, consistent with the $1.26B category leader in Government Long debt. On the outflow side, iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) lost ($1.05B) and iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) fell ($652.5M), mirroring the Corporate ($1.45B) and High Yield ($1.06B) category losses.

Commodity flows were negative overall at ($433.1M) for the day, a divergence from the $8.56B accumulated over the trailing 30 days. The Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF (BWET) led inflows at $31.7M, with gold-linked products such as iShares Gold Trust Micro ETF (IAUM) and iShares Gold Trust (IAU) adding $28.3M and $24.6M respectively. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) offset much of that with a ($400.3M) outflow, consistent with the broader Precious Metals category loss of ($352.3M), while United States Oil Fund LP (USO) shed ($158.1M).

Digital Asset flows were negative on the day at ($311.6M), reversing part of the $5.52B accumulated over the trailing 30 days. Staking-related products led inflows, with iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) adding $13.9M and Grayscale Ethereum Staking Mini ETF (ETH) at $7.7M. Bitcoin products bore the brunt of the outflows, as ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) lost ($164.3M), followed by Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) at ($36.4M) and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) at ($33.6M), consistent with the Cryptocurrency – Bitcoin category outflow of ($286.9M).

Non-Traditional strategies posted a net outflow of ($720.3M) on the day, contrasting with a $9.44B 30-day gain. ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil (SCO) led inflows at $126.1M, followed by JPMorgan NASDAQ Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ) at $71.1M and Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3X ETF (SPXL) at $69.1M. Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF (SOXL) posted the largest outflow at ($173.2M), while several Innovator buffer funds, including the Nasdaq-100 10 Buffer ETF Quarterly (QBUF) at ($169.2M), showed complete AUM turnover consistent with scheduled reset activity (may be the result of a custom rebalance).

Recent launches spanned a mix of niche equity, fixed income, and leveraged single-stock products. Global X’s MLCC & Electronic Components ETF (MLCC) debuted with $1.0M in AUM, while MFS introduced two short-duration fixed income funds, the Active Short Muni Bond ETF (MFSX) with $14.9M and the Active Short Duration Income ETF (MFSD) with $24.8M, the largest launches of the group. MicroSectors added three new leveraged/inverse equity ETNs tied to Consumer Staples and Communication Services sectors, all launching with $0 in initial AUM, alongside T-REX’s leveraged single-stock KATT product and Defiance’s Global Foundries thematic ETF (AIFR), both under $300K in starting assets.