Fixed Income Surges as Government Ultrashort Leads Inflows

Vanguard and iShares again topped the absolute leaderboard with $8.01B and $4.00B in single-day inflows, respectively, both tracking well above their 5-day paces of $19.48B and $20.24B and reinforcing multi-billion dollar 30-day and YTD trends ($400.42B and $319.41B YTD). JPMorgan ($1.02B), ARK ($922.3M), and Schwab ($591.5M) rounded out the top absolute gainers, with ARK’s single-day haul nearly matching its 30-day total of $2.51B. On the losing side, SPDR shed $3.14B and Invesco gave back $2.49B, though both remain net positive on a 5-day and YTD basis. Direxion ($507.1M), T. Rowe Price ($356.0M), and Roundhill ($203.8M) also posted notable outflows, with Direxion’s daily redemption adding to a negative 30-day ($377.1M) and YTD ($10.84B) trend. On a relative basis, Performance Trust (32.52%), Hennessy (26.13%), and Humilis (9.30%) saw the largest percentage inflows against AUM, while PMV (-16.58%) and Yoke (-6.88%) posted the steepest relative redemptions.

Total ETF flows reached $10.44B on the day, led overwhelmingly by Fixed Income at $8.28B, which dwarfed Equity’s $1.79B and extended a strong 1-week ($29.71B) and 30-day ($66.34B) trend for the asset class. Non-Traditional products added $304.0M and Digital Asset products gained $51.2M, while Commodity ETFs were the lone net decliner at ($40.2M) despite a positive $2.27B 30-day trend. At the category level, Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Ultrashort led all categories with $2.57B, followed by Equity: U.S. Large Cap – Value ($1.63B) and Equity: Thematic – Multi-Sector ($1.47B). On the outflow side, Equity: U.S. Large Cap – Blend lost ($2.75B) and Fixed Income: Taxable – Corporate shed ($1.26B), with Non-Traditional: Leverage | Inverse – Equity also lagging at ($627.9M).

Large-cap exposures dominated U.S. size and style flows, with the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) gathering $4.28B and the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM) adding $2.14B, while the State Street SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) brought in $1.27B. Mid- and small-cap exposure also saw demand via the Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF (VO) at $1.20B and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) at $864.5M. In sharp contrast, the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) gave back ($8.25B), while the Invesco QQQ Trust Series I (QQQ) lost ($1.71B) and the iShares Core S&P Small Cap ETF (IJR) shed ($465.4M).

International flows were far more muted, with the iShares International Country Rotation Active ETF (CORO) leading inflows at $81.7M, followed by the JPMorgan International Value ETF (JIVE) at $65.9M and the JPMorgan International Research Enhanced Equity ETF (JIRE) at $52.8M. The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) added a modest $23.3M. On the redemption side, the iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (EFV) lost ($124.7M), while the Capital Group International Focus Equity ETF (CGXU) and the iShares MSCI Intl Quality Factor ETF (IQLT) shed ($56.2M) and ($49.2M), respectively.

Sector flows skewed toward semiconductors and defensives, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) pulling in $494.3M and the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) adding $378.9M. Energy and Industrials also attracted capital through the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) at $329.0M and the State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) at $202.3M. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) was the clear outlier on the downside at ($864.4M), despite the semiconductor category’s overall inflow via SMH, while the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) lost ($288.3M) and the Vanguard Materials ETF (VAW) shed ($148.0M).

Regional and country flows were comparatively small, led by the iShares MSCI Singapore ETF (EWS) at $79.3M and the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) at $55.7M, with the iShares MSCI Poland ETF (EPOL) adding $10.8M. Redemptions were concentrated in Asian markets, with the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) losing ($190.3M), the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) shedding ($121.4M), and the JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF (BBJP) giving back ($70.7M).

Thematic flows were dominated by the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), which gathered $911.8M, closely followed by the iShares U.S. Thematic Rotation Active ETF (THRO) at $512.3M, together driving the Thematic: Multi-Sector category to $1.47B on the day. Smaller inflows came from the AAM Transformers ETF (TRFM) at $46.4M and the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG) at $27.6M. On the outflow side, the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) lost ($167.7M) and the Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP) shed ($118.9M), with the Global X Defense Tech ETF (SHLD) also giving back ($29.9M).

Fixed Income was the standout asset class with $8.28B in inflows, led by the iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) at $1.42B and the State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) at $825.3M, consistent with the $2.57B Government Ultrashort category total. Duration exposure also gathered assets via the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) at $784.6M, while credit saw the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) add $636.3M and the iShares National Muni Bond ETF (MUB) add $555.7M. Corporate bond funds lagged, with the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCIT) losing ($687.5M) and the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) shedding ($540.5M), together underpinning the ($1.26B) Corporate category outflow.

Commodity flows were roughly balanced to slightly negative at ($40.2M) for the day, a modest pullback from the asset class’s $279.2M 1-week and $2.27B 30-day gains. The SPDR Gold Minishares Trust of beneficial interest (GLDM) led inflows with $49.3M, followed by the Invesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF (PDBC) at $45.8M and the iShares Gold Trust (IAU) at $19.5M. The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was the largest decliner at ($114.2M), offsetting gains elsewhere in gold products, while the State Street SPDR Bloomberg Enhanced Roll Yield Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF (CERY) lost ($19.3M).

Digital Asset flows were positive overall at $51.2M, with the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) leading at $195.6M and the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC) adding $14.6M, both offsetting weakness elsewhere in the category. The Bitwise NEAR ETF (NRR) gathered $8.1M and the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust ETF (MSBT) added $7.0M. On the redemption side, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) lost ($60.7M) and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) shed ($31.4M), with the Fidelity Ethereum Fund ETF (FETH) also down ($23.5M).

Non-Traditional products added $304.0M overall, with the ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (SQQQ) leading at $199.7M and the JPMorgan NASDAQ Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ) adding $161.1M. The ProShares Ultra S&P 500 (SSO) gathered $149.5M and the Direxion Daily MU Bull 2X ETF (MUU) added $117.3M. The Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF (SOXL) was the category’s largest decliner at ($823.1M), consistent with the broader ($627.9M) Leverage | Inverse – Equity category outflow, while the ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) lost ($247.7M) and the GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF (NVDL) shed ($124.9M).

Recent launches spanned several niches, with the NYLIM MacKay Muni High Income ETF (MMHI) debuting with $25.0M in AUM in the Fixed Income: Municipal – High Yield category and the T. Rowe Price Dynamic Emerging Markets Bond ETF (TDEM) launching with $19.9M in Taxable – Emerging bonds. On the equity side, the Logan Capital International ETF (LCIV) opened with $18.9M in Global Ex-U.S. Large Cap – Blend, while the Jensen U.S. Quality Index ETF (JQTY) launched with a smaller $1.3M in U.S. Large Cap – Blend. Buffer strategies also saw new entrants, including the VanEck U.S. Equity Buffer ETF – October (OCT) at $610.1K and the AllianzIM International Equity Buffer15 Uncapped Oct ETF (OCTI) at $5.0M, alongside the IMGP DBI Absolute Return ETF (DBAR) launching with $3.0M in the Alternative: Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy category.