Sector ETF Channel Overview: Materials and Energy Surge as AUM Hits $916B

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Weekly Channel Summary

The Sector & Industry ETF channel currently oversees a massive $916 billion in assets under management across 268 ETFs and 54 unique brands. The channel experienced a robust week of activity, gathering $1.98 billion in net new money over the past five days. This positive momentum contributes to a strong start for the year, with Year-to-Date (YTD) flows totaling $12.57 billion, while the one-year trailing flow stands at $24.35 billion.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Performance was polarized this week, led by a surge in cyclical sectors. The Materials category was the standout leader with a Week-to-Date (WTD) return of 3.11%, closely followed by Energy at 3.03%. Both categories are showing exceptional strength YTD, with Materials up 13.56%. Conversely, the Real Estate category was the primary laggard, falling -1.87% for the week, though it remains in positive territory for the year.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Materials 3.11% 11.83% 17.26% 17.41% 13.56% 24.24%
Energy 3.03% 9.63% 11.08% 17.38% 9.38% 9.29%
Comm Services 1.54% 0.01% 3.27% 11.49% -0.08% 20.17%
Health Care 1.49% 1.36% 10.12% 21.08% 2.48% 16.45%
Consumer Staples 1.22% 6.36% 3.69% 0.52% 6.54% 5.50%
Consumer Discretionary -0.19% 2.09% 3.67% 6.81% 3.91% 7.31%
Information Technology -0.36% 2.76% 4.23% 19.75% 4.34% 25.34%
Industrial -1.28% 7.84% 10.28% 14.89% 9.56% 28.93%
Financials -1.58% -0.67% 6.77% 5.38% 0.65% 12.49%
Utilities -1.68% 0.43% -4.30% 2.83% 0.42% 12.69%
Real Estate -1.87% 3.29% 0.41% 1.92% 2.76% 7.30%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

The LNGX (Global X U.S. Natural Gas ETF) led the channel with a return of 4.84%. On the downside, volatility-defined funds saw significant pressure, with the DVXF (WEBs Financial XLF Defined Volatility ETF) dropping -5.09% and the DVRE (WEBs Real Estate XLRE Defined Volatility ETF) falling -4.61%.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
LNGX Global X U.S. Natural Gas ETF 4.84%
DVXB WEBs Materials XLB Defined Volatility ETF 4.72%
PYZ Invesco Dorsey Wright Basic Materials Momentum ETF 4.41%
IEZ iShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF 4.35%
COAL Range Global Coal Index ETF 4.19%
Bottom Performers
DVXF WEBs Financial XLF Defined Volatility ETF -5.09%
DVRE WEBs Real Estate XLRE Defined Volatility ETF -4.61%
ITA iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF -3.64%
DVDN Kingsbarn Dividend Opportunity ETF -3.57%
DVUT WEBs Utilities XLU Defined Volatility ETF -3.39%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The channel netted $1.98 billion in total flows this week. Financials was the overwhelming favorite among investors, capturing $2,082 million in new assets, bringing its total AUM to $104.0 billion. Health Care also saw significant interest with $1,220 million in inflows. On the other end of the spectrum, Utilities faced the heaviest selling pressure, with net outflows of $887 million.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day Flow YTD Flow 1 Year Flow
Financials 34 $104.0B $2,082M $4,656M $2,781M
Health Care 32 $102.1B $1,220M $3,275M $1,795M
Energy 32 $50.6B $453M $2,186M ($6,871M)
Industrial 28 $76.0B $206M $2,424M $9,062M
Real Estate 53 $83.9B $197M ($315M) $4,522M
Materials 10 $11.2B $80M $334M $266M
Comm Services 7 $35.4B ($128M) ($191M) $3,099M
Consumer Discretionary 15 $35.8B ($186M) ($1,114M) ($3,298M)
Consumer Staples 13 $28.0B ($366M) $350M ($998M)
Information Technology 33 $352.4B ($691M) $1,853M $8,496M
Utilities 11 $36.8B ($887M) ($885M) $5,494M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

The XLF (State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF) was the top flow getter with a massive $1,824 million. Conversely, the FXU (First Trust Utilities AlphaDEX Fund) led the outflows with $788 million leaving the fund, followed by the XLK (State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF) with $509 million in outflows.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
XLF State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF $1,824M
FBT First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund $970M
XBI State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF $306M
RSPS Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF $245M
XLE State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF $224M
Outflows
FXU First Trust Utilities AlphaDEX Fund ($788M)
XLK State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF ($509M)
XLP State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF ($334M)
IXN iShares Global Tech ETF ($233M)
SMH VanEck Semiconductor ETF ($138M)

Issuer League Table Update

The issuer landscape is dominated by SPDR (State Street Global Advisors) and Vanguard, who together control over 66% of the channel’s market share. SPDR was the week’s big winner in terms of fund gathering, securing $1.18 billion in weekly inflows. On the other hand, VanEck saw the largest net outflow among top issuers, losing $54 million for the week.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand # of ETFs AUM Market Share
SPDR 30 $380.89B 41.57%
Vanguard 12 $229.05B 25.00%
iShares 49 $148.06B 16.16%
VanEck 11 $48.05B 5.24%
Fidelity 12 $34.56B 3.77%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
SPDR $1,181M
Vanguard $244M
US Global $171M
Outflows
VanEck ($54M)
Strive ($4M)
Tortoise ($3M)

For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth ETF reports in the right side panel of this page.

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.