FI Specialty Recap: Defined Maturity Drives Flows, RFIX Leads Returns

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Weekly Channel Summary

The FI: Specialty channel ended the week with $68.2B in assets under management across 128 ETFs from 14 issuers. The channel generated $268M in net inflows over the past 5 days, contributing to a Year-to-Date total of $14.29B and a 1-Year haul of $17.72B.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Performance across the specialty fixed income landscape was muted but generally positive this week. The best-performing category was “Fixed Income: Specialty – Maturing Ladder,” posting a 0.28% return, while “Fixed Income: Specialty – Interest Rate Volatility” lagged slightly with a return of 0.02%. Year-to-Date, the Maturing Ladder category remains strong with a 6.42% return, while Interest Rate Volatility remains in negative territory at -0.94%.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Fixed Income: Specialty – Maturing Ladder 0.28% -0.90% 2.82% 6.77% 6.42% 4.87%
Fixed Income: Specialty – Defined Maturity 0.24% -0.15% 1.84% 4.41% 5.94% 5.92%
Fixed Income: Specialty – Interest Rate Volatility 0.02% 0.77% -1.52% -3.02% -0.94% 1.86%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

Among individual funds, the Simplify Bond Bull ETF (RFIX) led the pack with a solid 1.95% return. On the downside, the Vest 2 Year Interest Rate Hedge ETF (HYKE) and the Vest 10 Year Interest Rate Hedge ETF (RYSE) struggled the most, posting returns of -1.81% and -1.45%, respectively.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
RFIX Simplify Bond Bull ETF 1.95%
PFIX Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF 1.32%
IVOL KraneShares Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF 1.09%
IRVH Global X Interest Rate Volatility & Inflation Hedge ETF 0.82%
IBTQ iShares iBonds Dec 2035 Term Treasury ETF 0.75%
Bottom Performers
HYKE Vest 2 Year Interest Rate Hedge ETF -1.81%
RYSE Vest 10 Year Interest Rate Hedge ETF -1.45%
RINF ProShares Inflation Expectations ETF -0.74%
BNDD Quadratic Deflation ETF -0.53%
CPII American Beacon Ionic Inflation Protection ETF -0.26%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The channel attracted a total of $268M in net inflows this week. The “Specialty – Defined Maturity” category was the clear driver of growth, pulling in $287M to bring its total AUM to $67.1B. Conversely, “Fixed Income: Specialty – Maturing Ladder” saw the largest outflows, shedding -$17M.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Specialty – Defined Maturity 98 $67.1B $287M $1,083M $4,300M $14,072M $17,526M
Specialty – Interest Rate Volatility 10 $0.9B -$2M -$8M $86M $135M $110M
Fixed Income: Specialty – Maturing Ladder 20 $0.1B -$17M -$53M -$147M $84M $84M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

Leading inflows for the week was the iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Corporate ETF (IBDS). On the other end of the spectrum, the Invesco Bulletshares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF (BSCP) and the iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Corporate ETF (IBDQ) experienced the most significant outflows.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
IBDS iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Corporate ETF $35M
IBMO iShares iBonds Dec 2026 Term Muni Bond ETF $35M
IBDV iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term Corporate ETF $31M
IBTJ iShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Treasury ETF $31M
IBTH iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Treasury ETF $29M
Outflows
BSCP Invesco Bulletshares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF -$78M
IBDQ iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Corporate ETF -$52M
IBTF iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Treasury ETF -$49M
LDDR LifeX 2035 Income Bucket ETF -$19M
IBDX iShares iBonds Dec 2032 Term Corporate ETF -$13M

Issuer League Table Update

iShares and Invesco continue to dominate the issuer landscape, holding the top two spots for market share. iShares also secured the most significant weekly inflows at $238M, while Stone Ridge saw the largest outflows at -$18M.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
iShares 51 $39.09B 57.33%
Invesco 31 $27.82B 40.80%
Quadratic 1 $0.43B 0.63%
Simplify 2 $0.27B 0.40%
SPDR 16 $0.22B 0.33%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
iShares $238M
Invesco $49M
Northern Trust $1M
Outflows
Stone Ridge -$18M
Quadratic -$2M
Global X $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.