Long-Duration Treasuries Draw Big Government Flows

Issuer flows were led by iShares, which pulled in $5.01B on the day and continues to dominate longer-term trends with $43.23B over five days and $299.17B YTD, while First Trust added $917.6M and Capital Group gathered $283.0M. On the other side, SPDR shed $6.11B for the day despite a $23.59B five-day and $107.46B YTD inflow picture, and Invesco lost $2.08B, extending a negative $4.44B 30-Day trend even as its YTD figure remains positive at $73.37B. Among smaller issuers, Simplify ($339.0M) and Principal ($182.8M) posted the largest absolute outflows, while relative movers Humilis (15.58% of AUM) and Academy (7.27%) stood out on the inflow side against Jensen (-9.19%) and Texas Capital (-6.25%) on the outflow side. Vanguard also recorded a modest single-day outflow of $243.7M despite a strong 30-Day inflow of $19.74B and $380.94B YTD.

Total ETF flows were negative on the day at ($1.09B), a reversal from the 30-Day figure of $136.48B and YTD total of $1,501.64B, driven largely by an Equity outflow of ($3.47B) that also broke from the asset class’s $60.79B 30-Day and $909.55B YTD trends. Fixed Income countered with a $1.84B inflow, extending its $51.12B 30-Day and $475.78B YTD gains, while Digital Asset added $309.4M and Non-Traditional gained $337.8M. At the category level, Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Long led with $1.36B and Equity: Global Large Cap – Blend followed with $740.5M, while Equity: U.S. Large Cap – Blend saw the steepest outflow at ($5.12B), followed by Equity: U.S. Large Cap – Growth at ($1.69B). Commodity and Currency also posted modest daily outflows of ($71.3M) and ($132.2M) respectively, contrasting with their generally positive YTD totals.

Within U.S. size and style, the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) led inflows with $1.70B, followed by the First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (FV) at $869.4M and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) at $366.0M. On the outflow side, the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) lost $5.68B, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) shed $2.81B, and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) declined by $2.11B, together accounting for the bulk of the U.S. Large Cap category’s ($5.12B) daily outflow.

Ex-U.S. size and style flows were comparatively modest, led by the iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF (ACWX) at $182.6M and the iShares International Country Rotation Active ETF (CORO) at $125.1M, with the Dimensional International Core Equity Market ETF (DFAI) adding $91.4M. Outflows were minimal by comparison, with the iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (DVYE) leading laggards at just ($6.9M), followed by the Pacer Emerging Markets Cash Cows 100 ETF (ECOW) at ($5.3M). This contrasted with the broader Equity: Global Ex-U.S. Large Cap – Blend category, which gathered $600.4M for the day.

Sector flows were mixed, with the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) leading inflows at $259.0M and the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) close behind at $236.2M, consistent with the Financials category’s $437.3M and Utilities’ $265.9M daily gains. On the outflow side, the State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) lost $304.5M and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) declined $270.3M, while the broader Industrial category also saw a ($353.1M) outflow, aligning with losses in the State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) at ($135.1M).

Regional flows favored developed markets, with the iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (IEUR) gathering $134.2M and the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) adding $86.0M, alongside smaller gains for the iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU) and iShares MSCI Canada ETF (EWC), each near $65M. Outflows were led by the iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA) at ($47.6M) and the Invesco China Technology ETF (CQQQ) at ($28.1M), with remaining laggards in single-digit millions.

Thematic flows favored gold and cybersecurity exposures, with the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) leading at $179.8M and the First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR) adding $103.0M, with the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG) and Amplify Cybersecurity ETF (HACK) also gaining. On the outflow side, the iShares A.I. Innovation and Tech Active ETF (BAI) lost $113.2M and the State Street SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) declined $82.3M, with metals and mining themes also seeing modest redemptions.

Fixed Income saw substantial activity concentrated in duration exposure, with the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) gathering $1.12B, aligning with the Government Long category’s $1.36B daily total. The iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) added $389.1M and the iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) gained $261.6M, consistent with the Government Ultrashort category’s $727.7M inflow. Outflows were led by the iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (USHY) at ($450.6M) and the iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB) at ($351.2M), matching the Emerging USD category’s ($331.2M) daily decline.

Commodity flows were modestly negative overall at ($71.3M) for the day, contrasting with the asset class’s $4.65B 30-Day and $8.43B YTD gains. The iShares Gold Trust Micro ETF (IAUM) led inflows at $42.5M and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) added $34.5M, while the United States Oil Fund LP (USO) posted the largest outflow at ($106.5M), followed by the 3EDGE Dynamic Hard Assets ETF (EDGH) at ($44.6M).

Digital Asset flows were positive at $309.4M for the day, extending a $3.74B five-day and $5.73B 30-Day trend. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) led with $162.6M, followed by the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) at $28.0M and the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) at $26.8M. Outflows were minimal, with the WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW) at just ($4.0M) and the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index ETF (BITW) at ($3.3M).

Non-Traditional strategies gathered $337.8M on the day, a reversal from the ($3.47B) five-day trend but consistent with the $8.26B 30-Day and $79.35B YTD totals. The Tradr 2X Long SNDK Daily ETF (SNXX) led inflows at $96.4M, followed by the JPMorgan NASDAQ Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ) at $80.9M and the ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (SQQQ) at $63.1M. The Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3X ETF (SPXL) led outflows at ($143.6M), followed by the NEOS Nasdaq 100 High Income ETF (QQQI) at ($55.0M).

Recent launches spanned a range of issuers and categories, with T-Strive’s Digital Credit Preferred Income ETF (DCAP) debuting in Fixed Income: Taxable – Preferred Stock with $249.3K in AUM, alongside three Portfolio Building Block sector-focused funds (PBCS, PBUB, PBWN) that have yet to gather assets. Man Group’s Active Global Infrastructure ETF (MGIN) launched with $10.0M, the largest among the new entrants, while REX’s AI Chipmaking ETF (CHIP) and Invesco’s Nasdaq International Innovators 100 ETF (QQI) started with $494.3K and $4.0M respectively. Value-oriented equity launches included Hotchkis & Wiley’s Mid-Cap Value Fund ETF (HWMV) and American Beacon’s Income Equity ETF (TLIE), each starting with under $1.5M in AUM.