Non-Traditional Funds Pull In $5.16B as Leverage Surges

Issuer flows were mixed on an otherwise modest total net day, with ARK leading all absolute gainers at $3.25B, a figure dramatically above its 30-Day pace of $3.23B and consistent with its 18.75% AUM inflow, the largest relative gain of any issuer tracked. Vanguard added $3.09B and Direxion followed with $2.59B, while FT Vest contributed $1.89B, together offsetting a sizable $4.19B outflow from iShares and a $3.41B outflow from Invesco. WisdomTree shed $1.70B and SPDR gave back $1.12B, while T. Rowe Price’s $264.8M outflow stood out as the largest among non-mega issuers. On a relative basis, Russell Investments (12.84%) and PL (10.76%) also posted standout single-day gains versus AUM, while Corgi (-9.93%) and T-Rex (-2.67%) registered the steepest relative redemptions.

Total industry net flow reached $3.72B on the day, trailing the $59.05B 1-Week and $203.67B 1-Month paces but still positive against a $16,428.70B asset base. Non-Traditional products were the standout, pulling in $5.16B, well above their $12.33B 1-Week and consistent with a $98.43B YTD trend, led by Leverage | Inverse – Equity ($2.85B) and Buffer – Equity ($1.97B) categories. Equity overall posted a $4.33B outflow for the day despite a $989.97B YTD inflow, dragged down by U.S. Large Cap – Blend (-$3.92B) and U.S. Large Cap – Growth (-$2.97B), partially offset by $1.94B into Thematic – Health Innovation. Fixed Income added $2.15B and Commodity gained $775.3M, while Digital Asset categories slipped $96.9M on the day despite a $2.12B 1-Month inflow.

Within U.S. Size & Style, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) led inflows with $841.7M, followed by the Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF (VTV) at $557.5M. On the outflow side, the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) lost $4.40B, the largest redemption in the category, while the Invesco QQQ Trust Series I (QQQ) shed $3.42B and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) gave back $2.47B, consistent with the broad Blend and Growth category outflows seen industry-wide.

International Size & Style flows were comparatively modest, with the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) topping inflows at $140.9M and the JPMorgan International Value ETF (JIVE) adding $66.0M. Outflows were concentrated in the WisdomTree lineup, led by the WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth Fund (IHDG) at ($418.2M), followed by the WisdomTree International Quality Dividend Growth Fund (IQDG) at ($134.9M) and the WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund (DTH) at ($116.7M).

Sector flows favored Financials, where the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) gained $571.7M and the State Street SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) added $564.9M, consistent with the $1.08B category-level inflow for Sector – Financials. Health Care and Semiconductors also attracted interest via the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) at $310.0M and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) at $279.4M. On the opposite end, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) lost $1.57B, by far the largest sector-level redemption, while the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) shed $274.3M, aligning with the broader $1.40B outflow from the Information Technology category.

Regional flows were led by the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ), which gained $354.1M, well ahead of smaller inflows into the JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF (BBCA) at $46.7M and the iShares MSCI Australia ETF (EWA) at $46.1M. The WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) posted the largest regional redemption at ($815.3M), far exceeding the $103.2M outflow from the Invesco China Technology ETF (CQQQ).

Thematic flows were dominated by ARK’s genomics and innovation lineup, with the ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG) gathering $1.94B and the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) adding $1.31B, together aligning with the $1.94B Health Innovation category inflow. Smaller gains came from the State Street SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF (GNR) at $153.9M. On the downside, the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) lost ($131.7M) and the Corgi Lithography & Semiconductor Photonics ETF (EUV) shed ($82.0M).

Fixed Income gathered $2.15B on the day, supporting the $79.70B 1-Month and $538.99B YTD trend, with the Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF (VBIL) leading inflows at $395.1M, followed by the iShares National Muni Bond ETF (MUB) at $296.4M and the iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) at $281.5M. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) posted the day’s largest fixed income redemption at ($1.06B), consistent with the $1.18B category-level outflow from Government Long, while the iShares MBS ETF (MBB) lost ($244.8M).

Commodity products added $775.3M on the day, extending the $1.29B 1-Week and $9.92B YTD trend, led by SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) at $685.1M and SPDR Gold Minishares Trust (GLDM) at $164.3M, aligning with the $757.8M Precious Metals category inflow. The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) gave back ($53.8M), the largest commodity outflow of the day.

Digital Asset products posted a modest $96.9M net outflow for the day, a reversal from the $2.12B 1-Month inflow trend. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) led inflows at $16.8M, while the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) saw the largest redemption at ($44.4M), followed by the Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF (ETHE) at ($18.3M).

Non-Traditional products were the day’s standout asset class with $5.16B in net inflows, led by the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF (SOXL) at $2.25B and the FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF – October (FOCT) at $1.10B, consistent with the category-level surges in Leverage | Inverse – Equity ($2.85B) and Buffer – Equity ($1.97B). The Direxion Daily MSCI South Korea Bull 3X ETF (KORU) added $357.3M and the ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) gained $262.2M. On the outflow side, the Direxion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bull 3X ETF (TMF) lost ($166.7M) and the ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (SQQQ) shed ($112.0M); the KraneShares Wahed Alternative Income Index ETF (KWIN) also posted an outflow of ($62.1M) (may be the result of a custom rebalance).

The latest launches included the Tuttle – Rareview Humanoid Robotics ETF (HOID), an unclassified thematic entry debuting with $250.0K in assets. Corgi introduced a slate of nine fixed income products spanning Treasury, corporate, TIPS, and aggregate bond exposures, including the Corgi FTSE U.S. IG Corporate Bond ETF (IGB) at $1.0M and the Corgi FTSE U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGGB), also at $1.0M, with the remaining funds launching at between $250.0K and $500.0K in initial assets.