Subdued Volumes Mask Pockets of High Activity in Global Value and Energy ETFs

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Macro Summary

Overall ETF market volume totaled $225.8B, trading at 82% of its 30-day average, indicating a broadly subdued session. The dominant theme, however, was a significant and concentrated surge in ‘Equity: Global Large Cap – Value’ funds, which traded at an exceptional 342% of their normal volume. This activity was almost entirely driven by heavy turnover in the iShares MSCI Global Min Vol Factor ETF (ACWV), which saw volumes spike to 501% of its 30-day average.

Asset Class Summary

Asset Class Volume 30D Avg. % of 30D Avg.
Equity $148.1B $185.2B 80%
Fixed Income $26.7B $29.1B 92%
Commodities $9.7B $13.0B 74%
Crypto $5.6B $8.0B 70%
Currencies $38.2M $77.0M 50%
Alternatives $895.9M $1.3B 67%
Non-Traditional $34.7B $37.9B 91%
Multi-Asset $160.0M $161.4M 99%

Equity

Equity ETFs saw $148.1B in total volume, trading at 80% of their 30-day average. The day’s activity was concentrated in specific global and thematic pockets, with ‘Global Ex-U.S. Small | Mid Cap’ (304% vs avg) funds seeing exceptional turnover. Thematic categories like ‘FinTech’ (163%) and ‘Infrastructure’ (137%), along with ‘Sector – Energy’ (158%), also posted high-volume sessions. This was driven by significant outlier activity in tickers such as AVDV (593%), TOUS (538%), ACWV (501%), and BLOK (435%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Equity: Sector – Energy 158% $3.4B +2.57%
Equity: Global Ex-U.S. Small | Mid Cap 304% $707.1M +1.10%
Equity: Thematic – Infrastructure 137% $343.0M +1.09%
Equity: Thematic – FinTech 163% $281.8M +2.73%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
AVDV Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF 593% $288.5M +1.48%
TOUS T. Rowe Price International Equity ETF 538% $27.5M +0.49%
IXC iShares Global Energy ETF 528% $78.5M +1.46%
ACWV iShares MSCI Global Min Vol Factor ETF 501% $75.2M -0.43%
BLOK Amplify Blockchain Technology ETF 435% $124.6M +2.48%
BITQ Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF 401% $28.6M +3.80%
IWR iShares Russell Midcap ETF 314% $464.9M +0.86%
DFIS Dimensional International Small Cap ETF 313% $52.1M +1.03%
PWB Invesco Large Cap Growth ETF 282% $16.4M +1.41%
SCZ iShares MSCI EAFE Small-Cap ETF 278% $242.6M +0.87%

Fixed Income

Fixed Income ETFs traded $26.7B, which was 92% of their 30-day average. The only category to show notable high-volume activity was ‘Fixed Income: Taxable – Short-Term’ (147% vs avg). Ticker-level activity was more pronounced, with several funds seeing significant turnover. The standout was LONZ (1387%), followed by SHYG (776%), IBHE (413%), and VNLA (407%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Fixed Income: Taxable – Short-Term 147% $1.5B -0.04%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
LONZ PIMCO Senior Loan Active Exchange-Traded Fund 1387% $56.7M -0.15%
SHYG iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 776% $408.2M +0.10%
IBHE iShares iBonds 2025 Term High Yield & Income ETF 413% $13.5M +0.09%
VNLA Janus Henderson Short Duration Income ETF 407% $72.7M -0.04%
FIIG First Trust Intermediate Duration Investment Grade Corporate ETF 405% $18.7M -0.91%
HYBB iShares BB Rated Corporate Bond ETF 373% $19.6M +0.08%
JMBS Janus Henderson Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF 355% $86.8M -0.21%
IGSB iShares 1-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF 341% $406.9M -0.07%
DFNM Dimensional National Municipal Bond ETF 324% $23.1M -0.07%
ZROZ PIMCO 25+ Year Zero Coupon US Treasury Index Exchange-Traded Fund 321% $71.8M -1.18%

Commodities

Commodity ETFs posted $9.7B in volume, trading at 74% of their 30-day average. Activity was concentrated in ‘Focused – Energy’ (153% vs avg) and ‘Multi-Sector – Broad Market’ (142% vs avg) categories. This was supported by above-average turnover in broad commodity funds like BCI (240%) and PDBC (171%), as well as the energy-focused USO (167%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Commodity: Focused – Energy 153% $904.9M +1.00%
Commodity: Multi-Sector – Broad Market 142% $236.3M +1.05%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
BCI abrdn Bloomberg All Commodity Strategy K-1 Free ETF 240% $39.4M +1.12%
OUNZ VanEck Merk Gold ETF 177% $85.8M +0.23%
PDBC Invesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF 171% $124.4M +1.38%
USO United States Oil Fund LP 167% $698.8M +3.83%

Crypto

Digital Asset ETFs traded $5.6B, at 70% of their 30-day average. Trading was subdued across the asset class, with no categories meeting the high-volume criteria and no individual tickers registering as high-activity outliers.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
No high-activity ticker outliers for this asset class.

Currencies

Currency ETFs saw $38.2M in volume, a quiet session at 50% of their 30-day average. No categories or individual tickers met the high-activity criteria.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
No high-activity ticker outliers for this asset class.

Alternatives

Alternative ETFs traded $895.9M, operating at 67% of their 30-day average. Despite a small pocket of activity in Event Driven funds (161% vs avg), no categories met the high-volume ($100M) criteria, and no tickers registered as high-activity outliers.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
No high-activity ticker outliers for this asset class.

Non-Traditional

Non-Traditional ETFs accounted for $34.7B in volume, trading at 91% of their 30-day average. While no specific categories met the high-volume threshold, significant ticker-level activity was present, particularly in Synthetic Income funds. Outliers included RSPA (520%), QQA (311%), and USOI (278%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
RSPA Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Income Advantage ETF 520% $22.0M +0.28%
QQA Invesco QQQ Income Advantage ETF 311% $15.9M +0.67%
USOI UBS AG ETRACS Crude Oil Shares Covered Call ETNs due April 24; 2037 278% $7.7M +1.93%
DDM ProShares Ultra Dow30 206% $43.9M +0.52%
TSLR GraniteShares 2x Long TSLA Daily ETF 188% $149.9M +4.18%
ULTY YieldMax Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF 186% $339.1M +1.12%
UCO ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil 180% $90.3M +2.73%
TSLY YieldMax TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF 160% $448.7M +0.24%
TSYY GraniteShares YieldBOOST TSLA ETF 160% $41.2M +3.75%
SMCX Defiance Daily Target 2X Long SMCI ETF 158% $161.6M -16.39%

Multi-Asset

Multi-Asset ETFs traded $160.0M, just shy of their 30-day average at 99%. No categories or individual tickers registered significant high-activity levels.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
No high-activity ticker outliers for this asset class.

Disclaimer: This AI-assisted commentary is for informational purposes only. The “High-Volume Categories” table includes categories with over $100M in volume and activity at least 125% of their 30-day average, limited to the top 5 by volume. The “High-Activity Ticker Outliers” table shows the top 10 ETFs from each asset class, sorted by the highest trading activity versus their 30-day average. All reported ETFs have AUM over $250M and an ADV greater than $2.5M.

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.