Some of the best performing ETFs over the last week have been focused on commodities, but don’t tell markets that; commodities ETFs saw the most outflows across the asset classes over the last week, with the commodities sector seeing more than $1 billion in outflows, the most across all weekly asset flows.
| Asset Class | AUM ($, mm) | Net Flows ($, mm) |
|---|---|---|
| Bond | $1,291,225.56 | $7,270.58 |
| Equity | $5,287,091.98 | $2,202.71 |
| Alternatives | $5,613.11 | $82.34 |
| Currency | $3,777.67 | $68.45 |
| Preferred Stock | $31,885.91 | -$53.48 |
| Volatility | $2,524.18 | -$99.71 |
| Multi-Asset | $31,268.96 | -$99.94 |
| Real Estate | $70,912.90 | -$487.04 |
| Commodity | $131,414.59 | -$1,063.37 |
Much of that can be attributed to outflows from gold — the SPDR Gold Shares Strategy (GLD) saw almost half a billion in outflows alone, while the iShares Gold Trust (IAU) also lost $188 billion in outflows over one week according to VettaFi. Interestingly, the top inflows gainer was the SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (GLDM), but it added just $37 million in a week.
GLDM holds just a fraction of the gold per share held by GLD, about the same as IAU, with the decisive consideration perhaps the difference in fees. GLD charges 40 basis points, while GLD charges just 10, suggesting flows may be moving away from expensive gold exposures given the prospect of further rate hikes and into more affordable funds.
Outside of commodities, bonds continued their flow dominance with another $7.2 billion in net inflows over the week, with equities rebounding and adding $2.2 billion. Equities’ rebound was picked up in strategies like the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) which added $587 million over one week, with SPDR rival strategies like the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) adding $487 million and $426 million respectively.
The JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) continued to stand out, meanwhile, adding $418 million over the week, with its current income appeal perhaps intriguing investors looking for income to buoy holdings despite significant, global market volatility.
Interestingly, the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX), which passively tracks the NYSE Arca Gold Miners index, charges a decent fee relative to its commodity-specific fund cousins at 51 basis points and added $173 million in net inflows over one week, suggesting that exposure to the miners themselves retains some appeal.
In weekly asset flows elsewhere, too, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) saw $526 million leave the strategy, suggesting in turn that not all defensive plays in volatility are retaining popularity as well as others in such uncertain times.
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