Money in the markets shifts around constantly, and March was no exception. Which sectors and exchange traded funds (ETFs) grabbed the most cash?
In March, U.S. ETFs showed net inflows of $8 billion, most of which went into commodities, fixed income and emerging markets, writes Gary Gordon for ETF Expert.
Commodity ETFs were rather popular. Selections such as Powershares DB Agriculture Fund (DBA), which is down 6.9% year-to-date, showed a 25% increase in asset inflows and the aggregate commodity PowerShares DB Commodity Fund (DBC), which is down 3.7% year-to-date, had a 20% increase in assets.
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), which is up 0.3% year-to-date, also experienced a hefty $4.6 billion infusion.
Fixed income investments such as iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Fund (LQD), which is down 7.2% year-to-date, received $1 billion in assets.
iShares Emerging Market Fund (EEM), which is up 5.7% year-to-date, also gained $1.5 billion in assets.
This shows that investors may be favoring a faster recovery in emerging markets than that of developed ones. They are also offsetting risks with investments in what seems to be safe havens against the drooping U.S. economy and dollar devaluations.
It looks like may be the current theme with nearly $7 billion in assets drained out of the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY), last month, and it’s down 8.8% year-to-date.
Max Chen contributed to this article.
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