Many investors are now using exchange traded fund (ETF) flows to get a feel for where the most money is focused on Wall Street.

Matthew Hougan for Index Universe says that there is a new report that captures the largest creation/redemption activity within the ETF space. IndexUniverse will publish the report each Tuesday.

The largest net creation for the week ending December 28 goes to the Energy Select SPDR (XLE). $1.29 billion in new shares were created, showing that investors feel confident in the energy flow for 2008. Two gold funds hit the top 20, streetTracks Gold Trust (GLD) and the Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX), possibly because investors are searching for safe haven assets.

Largest net redemptions were seen by the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY), which lost nearly $6 million, and the iShares S&P 500 (IVV), which lost $1.8 billion. iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (DVY) is trading at a two-week low, possibly because investors are harvesting tax losses before the end of 2007.

For full disclosure, some of Tom Lydon’s clients own GDX.

Tags: Energy, GLD, Metals & Mining