Weekly Channel Summary
The Specialty Fixed Income channel, comprising 157 ETFs from 13 issuers, ended the week with total assets of $73.01 billion. The category attracted $346 million in net inflows over the past five days, contributing to a strong year-to-date haul of $9.28 billion. Over the last twelve months, investors have added a substantial $21.60 billion to these specialized bond strategies.
This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards
Performance was mostly flat across the Specialty Fixed Income channel this week. Interest Rate Volatility funds edged out a minor gain, rising 0.18% to lead all categories. Conversely, Maturing Ladder ETFs were the weakest group, posting a slight decline of just 0.01%. Despite the weekly win, Interest Rate Volatility funds remain down 0.62% year-to-date.
Category Performance Snapshot
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specialty – Interest Rate Volatility | 0.18% | 1.46% | 0.26% | 0.77% | -0.62% | -4.26% |
| Specialty – Defined Maturity | 0.11% | 0.33% | 0.18% | 0.94% | 1.03% | 4.15% |
| Specialty – Maturing Ladder | -0.01% | -0.19% | -0.46% | 0.19% | 0.42% | 3.05% |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance
Among individual funds, the Simplify Bond Bull ETF (RFIX) was the standout performer, climbing 1.04% for the week. The KraneShares Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF (IVOL) also posted a positive return of 0.35%. At the other end of the spectrum, the Quadratic Deflation ETF (BNDD) was the worst performer, falling by 0.81%.
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Top Performers | ||
| RFIX | Simplify Bond Bull ETF | 1.04% |
| IVOL | KraneShares Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF | 0.35% |
| IBIL | iShares iBonds Oct 2035 Term TIPS ETF | 0.28% |
| IBIK | iShares iBonds Oct 2034 Term TIPS ETF | 0.28% |
| IBHH | iShares iBonds 2028 Term High Yield and Income ETF | 0.26% |
| Bottom Performers | ||
| BNDD | Quadratic Deflation ETF | -0.81% |
| MUNA | Northern Trust 2030 Tax-Exempt Distributing Ladder ETF | -0.66% |
| BSMY | Invesco BulletShares 2034 Municipal Bond ETF | -0.63% |
| IBMX | iShares iBonds Dec 2035 Term Muni Bond ETF | -0.60% |
| IBMW | iShares iBonds Dec 2034 Term Muni Bond ETF | -0.56% |
Analyzing the Weekly Flows
Investors added a net $346 million to the channel, with flows almost entirely concentrated in Defined Maturity strategies, which collected $347 million. Within this group, Corporate bond funds led with $195 million in new assets, followed by Government bond funds with $125 million. A clear trend emerged in duration positioning, as funds maturing in 2030 attracted the most capital ($124 million) while those maturing in 2026 saw the largest outflows (-$48 million).
Flows by Category
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specialty – Defined Maturity | 129 | $71.98B | $347M | $1,284M | $3,804M | $9,303M | $21,642M |
| Specialty – Maturing Ladder | 20 | $149M | $1M | -$4M | $16M | $27M | -$164M |
| Specialty – Interest Rate Volatility | 8 | $877M | -$1M | -$13M | $34M | -$51M | $119M |
Flows by Segment
| Segment | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate | 64 | $55.01B | $195M | $809M | $2,542M | $6,432M | $15,532M |
| Government | 63 | $12.87B | $125M | $376M | $995M | $2,060M | $4,364M |
| Municipal | 30 | $5.12B | $26M | $82M | $317M | $787M | $1,701M |
Flows by Duration
| Duration | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: 2026 | 10 | $12.10B | -$48M | -$351M | -$876M | -$1,527M | -$267M |
| Duration: 2027 | 13 | $13.23B | $37M | $124M | $412M | $1,201M | $2,993M |
| Duration: 2028 | 14 | $12.49B | $72M | $368M | $1,061M | $2,477M | $4,512M |
| Duration: 2029 | 13 | $10.24B | $67M | $313M | $845M | $1,838M | $3,762M |
| Duration: 2030 | 17 | $8.18B | $124M | $323M | $786M | $1,705M | $3,596M |
| Duration: 2031 | 13 | $5.53B | $46M | $303M | $564M | $1,171M | $2,286M |
| Duration: 2032 | 11 | $4.15B | $23M | $99M | $338M | $721M | $1,594M |
| Duration: 2033 | 11 | $2.85B | $7M | $18M | $232M | $484M | $987M |
| Duration: 2034 | 10 | $1.95B | $4M | $24M | $157M | $570M | $1,108M |
| Duration: 2035 | 13 | $1.07B | $6M | $37M | $198M | $548M | $721M |
| Duration: 2036 | 5 | $128M | $7M | $19M | $82M | $108M | $108M |
| Duration: 2044 | 1 | $102M | $0M | $2M | $12M | $18M | $37M |
| Duration: 2045 | 3 | $21M | $0M | -$1M | $0M | $0M | $5M |
| Duration: 2046 | 1 | $10M | $1M | $1M | $6M | $9M | $9M |
| Duration: 2050 | 2 | $8M | $0M | $0M | $0M | $0M | $4M |
| Duration: 2054 | 1 | $6M | $0M | $1M | $2M | $2M | $4M |
| Duration: 2055 | 5 | $24M | $1M | -$1M | -$2M | -$0M | $5M |
| Duration: 2056 | 1 | $4M | $0M | $0M | $0M | $2M | $2M |
| Duration: 2060 | 2 | $8M | $0M | $0M | $2M | $2M | $5M |
| Duration: 2065 | 2 | $7M | $0M | $0M | $0M | $0M | $7M |
| Duration: Long | 1 | $1M | $0M | $0M | $0M | $0M | $0M |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow
The iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term Corporate ETF (IBDV) was the week’s most popular fund, gathering $51 million in new assets. This preference for longer-dated maturities was also evident in strong flows into the iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term Treasury ETF (IBTK). Conversely, investors rotated out of shorter-dated funds, with the Invesco BulletShares 2026 Corporate Bond ETF (BSCQ) and the iShares iBonds Dec 2026 Term Treasury ETF (IBTG) seeing the largest outflows of $18 million and $16 million, respectively.
| Ticker | Fund Name | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Inflows | ||
| IBDV | iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term Corporate ETF | $51M |
| IBTK | iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term Treasury ETF | $42M |
| IBTI | iShares iBonds Dec 2028 Term Treasury ETF | $32M |
| BSCT | Invesco BulletShares 2029 Corporate Bond ETF | $31M |
| IBTH | iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Treasury ETF | $28M |
| Outflows | ||
| BSCQ | Invesco BulletShares 2026 Corporate Bond ETF | -$18M |
| IBTG | iShares iBonds Dec 2026 Term Treasury ETF | -$16M |
| IBDR | iShares iBonds Dec 2026 Term Corporate ETF | -$11M |
| BNDD | Quadratic Deflation ETF | -$8M |
| IBHF | iShares iBonds 2026 Term High Yield and Income ETF | -$7M |
Issuer League Table Update
The issuer landscape remains dominated by iShares and Invesco, which command 58.16% and 38.68% of the channel’s assets, respectively. iShares led the week in asset gathering, attracting $236 million in net new money, while Invesco also saw healthy inflows of $96 million. KraneShares experienced the largest redemptions for the week, though the total was a modest $8 million.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Brand | Fund Count | AUM | AUM Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| iShares | 57 | $42.46B | 58.16% |
| Invesco | 35 | $28.24B | 38.68% |
| State Street | 21 | $955M | 1.31% |
| Vanguard | 10 | $320M | 0.44% |
| FolioBeyond | 1 | $292M | 0.40% |
Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow
| Brand | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|
| Inflows | |
| iShares | $236M |
| Invesco | $96M |
| Vanguard | $12M |
| Outflows | |
| KraneShares | -$8M |
| Simplify | -$2M |
| American Beacon | $0M |
For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth FI: Specialty ETF reports in the right side panel of this page.
Disclosures
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.
This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.
