This week we have seen decent sized inflows in the largest Biotech Equity based ETP in the U.S. listed landscape, IBB (iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology, Expense Ratio 0.48%), to the tune of about $400 million.
Net year to date the fund has reeled in north of $1.2 billion now, pushing the fund near the $10 billion mark in terms of total assets under management ($9.5 billion in total is in this fund).
The top holding in IBB, GILD (8.24% weighting), reported quarterly earnings results earlier this week and the stock has had a rather volatile ride in the short term, blitzing through its 50 day MA just five trading sessions ago, but having since rallied back to its 50 day MA where it is currently clinging. Likewise, the second largest holding in the fund BIIB (8.04% weighting) has gotten crushed since mid-July and post earnings, trading at its lowest levels since late 2014 currently.
However, this recent volatility in the two top weighted names has obviously not stopped investors from pouring money into IBB, and we have seen a similar dynamic occurring in other Biotech ETFs such as the second largest fund in the category FBT (First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology, Expense Ratio 0.60%, $3.8 billion in AUM) and the third largest XBI (SPDR S&P Biotech, Expense Ratio 0.35%, $2.9 billion in AUM), as these ETFs have reeled in $1.1 billion and $917 million in new assets respectively in 2015.
Interestingly, the fourth largest Biotech Equity ETF is a leveraged long product, with assets pushing near $1 billion at the moment, BIB (ProShares Ultra NASDAQ Biotechnology, Expense Ratio 0.95%) and this fund has attracted modest new assets year to date (+$110 million).
Next in line in terms of AUM size are BBH (Market Vectors Biotech, Expense Ratio 0.35%, $826 million in AUM), PBE (PowerShares Dynamic Biotech & Genome, Expense Ratio 0.59%, $580 million in AUM), SBIO (ALPS Medical Breakthroughs, Expense Ratio 0.50%, $205 million in AUM), and then the levered short product BIS (ProShares UltraShort NASDAQ Biotechnology, Expense Ratio 0.95%, $120 million in AUM).
From here, there is quite a drop-off in terms of overall asset levels in the remaining funds in the category, but just across the aforementioned funds an obvious takeaway here is that there are notable asset levels, and growing asset levels given what we have seen thus far in 2015 and in general with investors seeming to add to positions on weakness.
iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF
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