Sector ETF Recap: Materials Rally and Health Care Inflows Lead the Way

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Weekly Channel Summary

The Sector & Industry ETF channel closed the week with a total of $901B in assets under management across 268 ETFs and 54 distinct brands. The past week saw robust activity with $6.93B in net inflows, contributing to a year-to-date (YTD) flow total of $6.43B. Over the past year, the channel has gathered $20.88B in net new money, reflecting sustained investor interest despite varying sector performances.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Performance this week was characterized by strength in cyclical and industrial sectors. The Materials category led the GICS sectors with a 5.87% Week-to-Date (WTD) return, followed closely by Industrials at 5.78%. Conversely, Utilities remained the primary laggard, posting a -1.38% return for the week. On a YTD basis, Industrials remain a standout performer with an 8.03% return, while Utilities are slightly down by -0.12%.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Materials 5.87% 13.46% 12.25% 15.20% 7.95% 24.93%
Industrial 5.78% 10.22% 9.25% 17.09% 8.03% 33.74%
Consumer Discretionary 5.32% 5.94% 6.68% 10.43% 5.22% 12.24%
Information Technology 2.64% 0.69% 3.73% 19.73% 4.12% 30.32%
Health Care 1.94% 4.00% 10.83% 20.90% 2.10% 19.20%
Consumer Staples 1.79% 1.89% 0.51% -2.25% 1.74% 1.76%
Financials 1.72% 4.77% 6.91% 8.52% 2.39% 18.72%
Real Estate 1.39% 2.98% 2.21% 3.48% 1.65% 8.47%
Comm Services 1.21% 1.68% 4.57% 11.89% 0.71% 24.00%
Energy 1.17% 0.46% 6.68% 11.47% 3.45% 7.46%
Utilities -1.38% 0.44% -4.93% 5.78% -0.12% 15.96%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

Leading the individual ETF performance was the WDEF (WisdomTree Europe Defense Fund), which surged 15.67% this week. On the downside, natural gas and utility strategies struggled; the LNGX (Global X U.S. Natural Gas ETF) and DVUT (WEBs Utilities XLU Defined Volatility ETF) were the worst-performing funds, falling -4.12% and -3.53% respectively.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
WDEF WisdomTree Europe Defense Fund 15.67%
WDAF WisdomTree Asia Defense Fund 12.72%
XAR State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF 10.55%
WDGF WisdomTree Global Defense Fund 10.02%
EUAD Select STOXX Europe Aerospace & Defense ETF 9.63%
Bottom Performers
LNGX Global X U.S. Natural Gas ETF -4.12%
DVUT WEBs Utilities XLU Defined Volatility ETF -3.53%
BESF Bastion Energy ETF -3.41%
FCG First Trust Natural Gas ETF -3.07%
POWR iShares U.S. Power Infrastructure ETF -2.46%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

Net flow activity for the channel remained positive this week, with a total of $6,919M in net inflows. The Health Care category was the clear leader, attracting $2,127M in 5-day flows and bringing its total AUM to $101.2B. Industrials also saw significant investor interest with $1,827M in weekly inflows. On the other end of the spectrum, Consumer Discretionary recorded the largest outflows, seeing $529M leave the category over the past five days.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Health Care 32 $101.2B $2,127M $979M $5,775M $2,044M ($364M)
Industrial 28 $71.6B $1,827M $3,092M $4,346M $1,811M $9,049M
Information Technology 33 $351.2B $1,586M $1,276M $6,633M $1,419M $9,512M
Financials 34 $103.4B $1,253M $689M ($1,788M) $1,305M $899M
Energy 31 $45.9B $828M $427M $728M $822M ($8,865M)
Materials 10 $10.8B $481M $696M $219M $460M ($126M)
Real Estate 52 $82.6B ($121M) $1,221M $2,912M ($273M) $4,433M
Utilities 11 $36.5B ($162M) $243M $1,997M ($258M) $6,751M
Consumer Staples 13 $25.5B ($176M) ($389M) ($1,240M) ($239M) ($1,385M)
Comm Services 7 $36.1B ($194M) $168M $397M ($190M) $3,137M
Consumer Discretionary 15 $36.1B ($529M) $240M ($603M) ($481M) ($2,174M)

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

The XLV (State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF) led the weekly inflows with $1,113M, followed by semiconductor strength in the SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) with $1,014M. Outflows were most pronounced in the XLY (State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR) which lost $558M, while the IGV (iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF) saw $233M in outflows.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
XLV State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF $1,113M
SMH VanEck Semiconductor ETF $1,014M
XLI State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF $909M
XBI State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF $732M
XLF State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF $684M
Outflows
XLY State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ($558M)
IGV iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF ($233M)
XLC State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF ($229M)
IYR iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF ($194M)
XLP State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF ($185M)

Issuer League Table Update

The issuer landscape continues to be dominated by SPDR and Vanguard, who together control over 67% of the market share in this channel. SPDR leads with a 41.69% share and was the dominant gatherer of weekly inflows, bringing in $4,289M. Among the top issuers, Fidelity saw the most significant weekly outflows, losing $29M across its sector ETF lineup.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
SPDR 30 $375.54B 41.69%
Vanguard 12 $228.04B 25.32%
iShares 49 $145.79B 16.18%
VanEck 11 $44.53B 4.94%
Fidelity 12 $34.01B 3.78%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
SPDR $4,289M
VanEck $1,181M
iShares $573M
Outflows
Fidelity ($29M)
Simplify ($8M)
ProShares ($3M)

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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.