Investors Bet on Duration as TLT Pulls in $5.6 Billion Amid Broader Fixed Income Inflows

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Weekly Channel Summary

The Taxable fixed income ETF channel, comprising 718 funds from 147 issuers, ended the week with total assets of $2.35 trillion. Investors allocated a net $11.8 billion to the space over the past five days, contributing to robust year-to-date inflows of $357.5 billion. Over the last twelve months, the channel has attracted over $525.6 billion in new capital.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Performance across taxable bond categories was mixed, with a wide gap between the leaders and laggards. Convertible bond ETFs surged, posting a 2.76% weekly gain and extending their impressive year-to-date return to 21.28%. In contrast, categories sensitive to interest rate changes struggled, as Long-Term bond funds fell by 0.74%, marking the week’s poorest performance.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Taxable – Convertible 2.76% 2.36% 0.30% 14.11% 21.28% 28.92%
Taxable – Bank Loans 0.25% 0.91% 1.34% 2.90% 2.20% 4.72%
Taxable – Preferred Stock 0.24% 0.66% -0.67% -0.24% 2.09% 3.97%
Taxable – High Yield 0.14% 0.59% 1.44% 1.74% 2.56% 5.45%
Taxable – Government Short 0.13% 0.42% 0.74% 0.53% 1.12% 2.91%
Municipal – Single State 0.12% 0.35%
Taxable – Ultrashort 0.10% 0.42% 1.05% 1.88% 2.48% 4.37%
Taxable – Government Ultrashort 0.08% 0.34% 0.94% 1.80% 2.26% 3.86%
Taxable – Short-Term 0.07% 0.41% 0.72% 0.41% 1.21% 3.27%
Taxable – Multisector 0.03% 0.38% 0.97% 0.55% 1.74% 4.44%
Taxable – Inflation Protected -0.01% -0.00% -0.41% 0.33% 1.31% 2.42%
Taxable – Government Intermediate -0.03% 0.04% 0.06% -1.44% -0.33% 1.72%
Taxable – Securitized -0.06% -0.12% 0.03% -1.18% 0.46% 3.91%
Taxable – Core Enhanced -0.11% -0.12% -0.01% -1.27% 0.16% 2.81%
Taxable – Core -0.12% -0.17% -0.14% -1.50% -0.10% 2.34%
Taxable – Emerging USD -0.17% -0.06% 0.76% 0.15% 1.84% 6.43%
Taxable – Corporate -0.26% -0.23% -0.40% -1.61% -0.30% 2.21%
Taxable – Emerging -0.30% 1.11% 2.24% 0.05% 2.87% 7.47%
Taxable – International USD -0.46% -0.23% 0.28% -0.68% 0.53% 1.34%
Taxable – International -0.46% 1.11% -0.26% -2.92% -0.44% 0.25%
Taxable – Government Long -0.58% -1.35% -1.52% -4.96% -2.53% -0.32%
Taxable – Long-Term -0.74% -1.41% -2.12% -4.63% -2.32% -0.14%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

The week’s top-performing funds were dominated by convertible bond strategies, reflecting the strength in their underlying category. First Trust SSI Strategic Convertible Securities ETF (FCVT) and iShares Convertible Bond ETF (ICVT) both led the pack with returns of 2.86%. Conversely, the funds with the largest declines were concentrated in long-duration government debt, with the PIMCO 25+ Year Zero Coupon US Treasury Index Exchange-Traded Fund (ZROZ) declining by 1.80%.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
FCVT First Trust SSI Strategic Convertible Securities ETF 2.86%
ICVT iShares Convertible Bond ETF 2.86%
CWB State Street SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities ETF 2.64%
CVRT Calamos Convertible Equity Alternative ETF 2.61%
SPFF Global X SuperIncome Preferred ETF 1.58%
Bottom Performers
ZROZ PIMCO 25+ Year Zero Coupon US Treasury Index Exchange-Traded Fund -1.80%
GOVZ iShares 25+ Year Treasury STRIPS Bond ETF -1.76%
DWWN Principal Long Duration ETF -1.56%
EDV Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury ETF -1.52%
XTWY BondBloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF -1.14%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

Investors poured nearly $11.8 billion into taxable bond ETFs, with Multi-Sector and Government funds leading the way by segment, attracting $6.6 billion and $4.1 billion, respectively. From a credit perspective, Investment Grade funds were the clear favorite, pulling in $9.6 billion while High Yield funds saw net redemptions of $406 million. Intermediate duration funds gathered the most assets with $5.9 billion, though long duration funds also saw significant interest with $1.9 billion in new assets despite underperforming.

Flows by Segment

Segment Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Multi-Sector 304 $985.76B $6,589M $22,779M $71,874M $161,525M $247,618M
Government 130 $728.68B $4,122M $13,066M $41,141M $122,896M $176,360M
Bank Loans 49 $71.29B $535M $2,756M $7,126M $13,802M $16,380M
Corporate 158 $413.55B $287M $4,481M $23,407M $47,959M $69,092M
Securitized 46 $108.77B $224M $948M $4,223M $8,451M $11,790M
Preferred Stock 30 $43.39B $21M -$129M $1,800M $2,836M $4,318M
Cat Bonds 1 $85M $1M $6M $5M $51M $75M

Flows by Credit Type

Credit Type Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Credit: Investment Grade 370 $1,875.99B $9,624M $33,077M $111,487M $282,897M $407,020M
Credit: Blend 191 $276.27B $2,542M $8,067M $27,695M $60,530M $94,084M
Specialty: Interest Rate Volatility 1 $92M $4M $11M $68M $73M $73M
Credit: High Yield 153 $198.90B -$406M $2,709M $10,229M $13,876M $24,203M

Flows by Duration

Duration Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Duration: Intermediate 416 $1,345.00B $5,890M $21,001M $84,366M $189,108M $295,514M
Duration: Ultrashort 146 $501.86B $2,443M $14,435M $42,272M $119,218M $148,887M
Duration: Long 62 $195.18B $1,874M $1,753M $4,902M $6,245M $19,643M
Duration: Short 91 $309.21B $1,559M $6,675M $17,938M $42,805M $61,336M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

A significant rotation was evident at the fund level, highlighting a clear bet on longer duration. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) single-handedly attracted $5.6 billion, making it the week’s top asset gatherer. This inflow was largely offset by a massive $4.1 billion redemption from the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF). The State Street SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) also experienced significant outflows, shedding $536 million.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF $5,606M
SGOV iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF $1,096M
FBND Fidelity Total Bond ETF $842M
CGCB Capital Group Core Bond ETF $625M
BSV Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF $605M
Outflows
IEF iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF -$4,136M
JNK State Street SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF -$536M
SPIB State Street SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF -$298M
TBLL Invesco Short Term Treasury ETF -$249M
USHY iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF -$234M

Issuer League Table Update

The issuer landscape remains dominated by iShares and Vanguard, which command 36.26% and 26.23% of the channel’s assets, respectively. iShares also led the week in asset gathering, pulling in a net $4.5 billion, followed by Vanguard with $2.8 billion in new capital. On the other end of the spectrum, WisdomTree recorded the largest net outflows for the week, with investors withdrawing $154 million.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
iShares 88 $852.59B 36.26%
Vanguard 31 $616.90B 26.23%
SPDR 36 $174.48B 7.42%
JPMorgan 20 $97.63B 4.15%
Schwab 12 $78.78B 3.35%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
iShares $4,519M
Vanguard $2,841M
Fidelity $845M
Outflows
WisdomTree -$154M
Simplify -$152M
SPDR -$149M

For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth Taxable 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.