Energy Tops Sector Flows with $549M as Precious Metals Face Sharp Pullback

Issuer League Tables

Daily absolute flow activity was led by Direxion with $2,286M and Invesco with $1,184M, while SPDR and iShares faced the largest absolute daily outflows of $4,533M and $771M, respectively. On a relative basis, The Brinsmere Funds experienced a significant daily intake representing 29.45% of its $1.01B AUM, contrasting with STF which saw its assets contract by 2.92%. Long-term trends indicate Vanguard continues to lead the market with $121.75B in year-to-date flows, followed by iShares with $64.36B, while SPDR remains down $9.79B YTD.

Issuer Flows Absolute

Issuer Flows Relative

Daily ETF Flow Analysis

Total U.S. listed ETFs recorded a daily net outflow of $830M, as heavy redemptions in Equity and Commodity asset classes offset positive movement in Fixed Income and Non-Traditional categories. Fixed Income remains the primary beneficiary of mid-term trends, securing $12,210M in weekly flows and $135,491M year-to-date. Equity funds faced a single-day loss of $1,590M, significantly below the three-month trend which saw $345,672M in net creations.

Asset Class Flows

Top/Bottom 10 Category Flows

U.S. Size & Style

Invesco’s QQQ and RSP were the absolute leaders in the style category, adding $670M and $452M respectively. This strength was counterbalanced by major redemptions in broad market benchmarks, as SPY lost $3,067M and IVV saw $1,232M in outflows. U.S. Large Cap – Blend has faced significant pressure recently, with weekly flows down $16,647M despite maintaining a massive $4,074.4B asset base.

Size & Style ex-U.S.

International equity flows were dominated by the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF IEFA, which secured $370M in daily net creations. Avantis’ international and emerging markets offerings, AVDE and AVEM, also showed strength with combined inflows of $206M. Conversely, WSML faced a sharp daily redemption of $213M, moving against the category’s one-month trend of $1,354M in positive flows.

Sector & Industry

The Energy sector stood out as a clear leader with XLE and XOP securing combined daily flows of $388M. Technology sentiment was mixed, as SMH gained $257M while SOXX faced a category-high $321M daily outflow. Industrial and Financial sectors also faced headwinds, with XLI and XLF shedding $267M and $205M respectively.

Region & Country

iShares MSCI South Korea ETF EWY was the standout leader in regional flows, attracting $689M in new assets. European interest remained firm with IEUR adding $498M, supporting a broader eurozone monthly creation trend of over $1.2B. Conversely, Japan-focused EWJ faced substantial daily redemptions of $231M, despite maintaining a leading AUM position of $18.93B.

Thematic

Magnificent Seven concentration remained a priority for thematic investors, with MAGS recording $51M in creations. Global Natural Resources via GNR also performed well, adding $36M, while Metals and Mining strategies faced a pullback as XME lost $85M. Disruptive Technology maintains the strongest thematic footprint overall, with over $19.8B in flows over the trailing one-year period.

Fixed Income

Long-term and ultrashort government bond ETFs drove the majority of daily fixed income inflows, led by TLT with $479M and SGOV with $397M. Corporate credit strategies were notable laggards, with high-yield HYG losing $938M and investment grade LQD shedding $497M. Despite these specific daily redemptions, Fixed Income: Multi-Sector has maintained strong momentum with over $209.5B in trailing one-year flows.

Commodity

Precious metals faced a significant daily contraction, with category leaders IAU and GLD seeing combined redemptions of $1,119M. Energy commodities provided a positive offset, as USO and BNO added $86M in net creations. Despite the heavy daily losses in precious metals, the multi-sector commodity category maintains a robust $2.1B in positive flows over the three-month period.

Cryptocurrency

Daily cryptocurrency flows were predominantly negative, weighed down by heavy redemptions in major Ethereum and Bitcoin products such as FETH and IBIT. A rare daily leader was ETHA, which added $30M to its $6.67B asset base despite the broader sector pressure. Bitcoin remains the category giant with $93.48B in AUM, though it has seen significant one-week outflows of $1,664M.

Non-Traditional

Synthetic income strategies continued to dominate the non-traditional category, with high-income funds QQQI and JEPI attracting $87M and $86M respectively. Leveraged semiconductor products saw high daily volatility, with SOXL adding $85M while NVDL shed $52M. Year-to-date, non-traditional strategies have attracted $16,472M in net creations, with derivative-based equity income being the primary sub-category driver.

Recent Launches

Total ETF launches in the past three months reached 297, with activity led by leveraged and buffer strategies from brands like Tradr and Leverage Shares. Recent entries include space and technology themes through MARS and specialized income products from Nicholas. ProShares’ money market entry 10MM continues to lead all YTD launches in AUM, securing over $20.2B since inception.