Beyond the Majors: Conservative & Niche ETFs See 300%+ Volume Spikes

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Macro Summary

Overall ETF market trading remained elevated, with total volume reaching $340.4B, or 119% of the 30-day average. The day’s activity was disproportionately driven by a remarkable surge in ‘Asset Allocation: Target Risk – Conservative’ funds, which saw trading volumes spike to 334% of their recent average, even as the category finished the day down 0.09%. This interest in specific niches was also seen in ‘Fixed Income: Taxable – Convertible’ (197% of average volume, -0.27% return) and ‘Equity: Thematic – Infrastructure’ (156% of average volume, +0.22% return), suggesting a broad-based interest in specific, non-core asset classes.

Asset Class Summary

Asset Class Volume 30D Avg. % of 30D Avg.
Equity $236.9B $188.5B 126%
Fixed Income $28.8B $30.6B 94%
Commodities $10.3B $13.3B 78%
Crypto $9.3B $8.7B 107%
Currencies $59.7M $76.2M 78%
Alternatives $1.9B $1.5B 126%
Non-Traditional $52.9B $42.2B 125%
Multi-Asset $191.3M $182.1M 105%

Equity

The Equity asset class recorded $236.9B in total volume, trading at 126% of its 30-day average. Activity was led by significant turnover in the U.S. Large Cap – Growth category (finishing the day up +0.03%) and U.S. Small Cap – Blend (down -0.08%). This activity was exemplified by heavy trading in FTXL (closing up +0.11%) and QQXT (closing down -0.26%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
U.S. Large Cap – Growth 134% $54.9B +0.03%
U.S. Small Cap – Blend 140% $15.3B -0.08%
Information Technology 146% $13.4B +0.17%
U.S. Large Cap – Value 140% $10.6B -0.17%
Health Care 132% $4.7B +0.16%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
FTXL First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF 24153% $1.3B +0.11%
QQXT First Trust Nasdaq-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund 9580% $700.3M -0.26%
FXR First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX Fund 4352% $147.8M -0.67%
FXO First Trust Financials AlphaDEX Fund 2858% $156.9M -0.33%
IYJ iShares U.S. Industrials ETF 985% $69.9M -0.58%
FXU First Trust Utilities AlphaDEX Fund 955% $151.9M -0.02%
SKYY First Trust Cloud Computing ETF 488% $95.3M -0.01%
ZAP Global X U.S. Electrification ETF 433% $15.1M +0.26%
IWLG NYLI Winslow Large Cap Growth ETF 399% $18.4M +0.12%
VFMO Vanguard U.S. Momentum Factor ETF 345% $21.3M +0.28%

Fixed Income

The Fixed Income asset class recorded $28.8B in total volume, trading at 94% of its 30-day average. Activity was led by significant turnover in the Taxable – Convertible category (finishing the day down -0.27%) and Municipal – Long (down -0.09%). This activity was exemplified by heavy trading in CMBS (closing down -0.18%) and BLV (closing up +0.30%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Municipal – Intermediate 127% $1.1B -0.24%
Taxable – Convertible 197% $230.7M -0.27%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
CMBS iShares CMBS ETF 641% $17.9M -0.18%
NHYB Nuveen High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 400% $150.1M +0.09%
XBB BondBloxx BB-Rated USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 375% $52.6M -0.05%
IBDX iShares iBonds Dec 2032 Term Corporate ETF 346% $23.3M -0.08%
BLV Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF 205% $102.6M +0.30%
ICVT iShares Convertible Bond ETF 203% $104.1M -0.58%
PZA Invesco National AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF 200% $42.5M -0.06%
CWB State Street SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities ETF 196% $123.4M -0.60%
IBDQ iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Corporate ETF 190% $27.0M +0.02%
IBTF iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Treasury ETF 182% $19.2M +0.06%

Commodities

The Commodities asset class recorded $10.3B in total volume, trading at 78% of its 30-day average. Activity was led by significant turnover in the Focused – Agriculture category (finishing the day down -0.58%). This activity was exemplified by heavy trading in DBC (closing up +0.20%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
DBC Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund 204% $18.0M +0.20%

Crypto

The Crypto asset class recorded $9.3B in total volume, trading at 107% of its 30-day average. Activity was led by significant turnover in the Cryptocurrency – Bitcoin category (finishing the day down -2.97%). Trading was broadly in line with averages, with no significant high-volume categories to note.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
No high-activity ticker outliers for this asset class.

Currencies

The Currencies asset class recorded $59.7M in total volume, trading at 78% of its 30-day average. Trading was broadly in line with averages, with no significant high-volume categories to note.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
No high-activity ticker outliers for this asset class.

Alternatives

The Alternatives asset class recorded $1.9B in total volume, trading at 126% of its 30-day average. Activity was led by significant turnover in the Volatility – Long category (finishing the day down -1.98%) and Volatility – Short (up +0.75%). Trading was broadly in line with averages, with no significant high-volume categories to note.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Volatility – Long 126% $1.6B -1.98%
Volatility – Short 143% $295.0M +0.75%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
No high-activity ticker outliers for this asset class.

Non-Traditional

The Non-Traditional asset class recorded $52.9B in total volume, trading at 125% of its 30-day average. Activity was led by significant turnover in the Leverage | Inverse – Equity category (finishing the day down -0.11%) and Synthetic Income – Commodity (down -1.19%). This activity was exemplified by heavy trading in IGLD (closing down -1.39%) and ZALT (closing down -0.02%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Leverage | Inverse – Equity 148% $33.8B -0.11%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
IGLD FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF 407% $21.9M -1.39%
USOI UBS AG ETRACS Crude Oil Shares Covered Call ETNs due April 24; 2037 312% $9.6M +1.49%
ZALT Innovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF – Quarterly 303% $19.0M -0.02%
BALT Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF 242% $26.2M +0.03%
QFLR Innovator Nasdaq-100 Managed Floor ETF 221% $5.9M -0.02%
SPXS Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3x Shares 216% $455.3M -0.12%
MUU Direxion Daily MU Bull 2X Shares 184% $145.4M +8.37%
TQQQ ProShares UltraPro QQQ 178% $11.6B +0.45%
SDS ProShares UltraShort S&P500 177% $729.0M -0.04%
IDVO Amplify CWP International Enhanced Dividend Income ETF 165% $9.6M -0.21%

Multi-Asset

The Multi-Asset asset class recorded $191.3M in total volume, trading at 105% of its 30-day average. Activity was led by significant turnover in the Target Risk – Conservative category (finishing the day down -0.09%) and Target Risk – Growth (down -0.04%). Trading was broadly in line with averages, with no significant high-volume categories to note.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
No high-activity ticker outliers for this asset class.

Disclaimer: This AI-assisted commentary is for informational purposes only. The “High-Volume Categories” table includes categories with over $100M in volume and activity at least 125% of their 30-day average, limited to the top 5 by volume. The “High-Activity Ticker Outliers” table shows the top 10 ETFs from each asset class, sorted by the highest trading activity versus their 30-day average. All reported ETFs have AUM over $250M and an ADV greater than $2.5M.

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.