Weekly Channel Summary
The FI: Specialty ETF channel continues to show significant scale, currently housing 127 ETFs with a total of $66B in assets under management across 15 distinct issuers. Investor interest remains robust, as evidenced by a steady stream of capital entering the space. Over the past five days, the channel captured $0.56B in net new money, contributing to a Year-to-Date (YTD) flow total of $1.57B. This momentum builds upon a strong preceding year, during which the channel attracted an impressive $22.46B in total inflows.
This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards
Performance across specialty fixed income categories was mixed this week. The “Fixed Income: Specialty – Interest Rate Volatility” category led the group with a Week-to-Date (WTD) return of 0.26%, though it remains largely flat on a Year-to-Date basis at 0.09%. Conversely, “Fixed Income: Specialty – Maturing Ladder” trailed the pack, posting a WTD decline of -0.08%, despite maintaining a positive YTD performance of 0.27%. The “Specialty – Defined Maturity” segment remained nearly unchanged for the week at -0.01%.
Category Performance Snapshot
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specialty – Interest Rate Volatility | 0.26% | -0.57% | -0.17% | -3.20% | 0.09% | -2.05% |
| Specialty – Defined Maturity | -0.01% | 0.46% | 0.60% | 3.61% | 0.24% | 6.75% |
| Specialty – Maturing Ladder | -0.08% | 0.34% | -0.74% | 3.90% | 0.27% | 5.71% |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance
At the individual fund level, the HYKE (Vest 2 Year Interest Rate Hedge ETF) secured the top spot with a 1.41% return. On the other end of the spectrum, the IVOL (KraneShares Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF) and RFIX (Simplify Bond Bull ETF) were the week’s laggards, posting returns of -0.53% and -0.51%, respectively.
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Top Performers | ||
| HYKE | Vest 2 Year Interest Rate Hedge ETF | 1.41% |
| RYSE | Vest 10 Year Interest Rate Hedge ETF | 1.38% |
| PFIX | Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF | 0.71% |
| RISR | FolioBeyond Alternative Income and Interest Rate Hedge ETF | 0.32% |
| RINF | ProShares Inflation Expectations ETF | 0.27% |
| Bottom Performers | ||
| IVOL | KraneShares Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF | -0.53% |
| RFIX | Simplify Bond Bull ETF | -0.51% |
| IBTQ | iShares iBonds Dec 2035 Term Treasury ETF | -0.39% |
| IBTP | iShares iBonds Dec 2034 Term Treasury ETF | -0.38% |
| IBTO | iShares iBonds Dec 2033 Term Treasury ETF | -0.36% |
Analyzing the Weekly Flows
The channel recorded a total net inflow of $562M this week. The “Specialty – Defined Maturity” category dominated the flow landscape, bringing in $565M, which supports its massive $65.0B AUM base. In contrast, “Fixed Income: Specialty – Maturing Ladder” saw the largest divestment, with -$2M in weekly outflows.
Category Flows Summary
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specialty – Defined Maturity | 91 | $65.0B | $565M | $4,109M | $8,182M | $1,573M | $22,497M |
| Specialty – Interest Rate Volatility | 10 | $0.9B | ($1M) | ($84M) | $51M | ($9M) | $125M |
| Fixed Income: Specialty – Maturing Ladder | 20 | $0.1B | ($2M) | $0M | ($49M) | ($1M) | ($168M) |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow
The IBTI (iShares iBonds Dec 2028 Term Treasury ETF) led all funds with $48M in new assets. Conversely, BSCQ (Invesco BulletShares 2026 Corporate Bond ETF) and IVOL (KraneShares Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF) experienced the largest outflows of the week, losing $12M and $8M, respectively.
| Ticker | Fund Name | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Inflows | ||
| IBTI | iShares iBonds Dec 2028 Term Treasury ETF | $48M |
| IBDU | iShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Corporate ETF | $45M |
| IBDV | iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term Corporate ETF | $43M |
| IBDS | iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Corporate ETF | $34M |
| BSCS | Invesco BulletShares 2028 Corporate Bond ETF | $34M |
| Outflows | ||
| BSCQ | Invesco BulletShares 2026 Corporate Bond ETF | ($12M) |
| IVOL | KraneShares Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF | ($8M) |
| IBHG | iShares iBonds 2027 Term High Yield and Income ETF | ($8M) |
| BSJQ | Invesco BulletShares 2026 High Yield Corp Bond ETF | ($7M) |
| IBTG | iShares iBonds Dec 2026 Term Treasury ETF | ($3M) |
Issuer League Table Update
The specialty fixed income landscape is highly concentrated, with iShares and Invesco together accounting for nearly 98% of the total market share. iShares led the weekly inflow race, gathering $384M in net new assets, followed by Invesco with $173M. On the downside, Quadratic and Stone Ridge saw the largest weekly outflows, losing $8M and $2M respectively.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Brand | Fund Count | AUM | AUM Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| iShares | 47 | $38.21B | 57.81% |
| Invesco | 28 | $26.55B | 40.17% |
| Quadratic | 1 | $0.48B | 0.72% |
| Simplify | 2 | $0.24B | 0.37% |
| FolioBeyond | 1 | $0.18B | 0.28% |
Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow
| Brand | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|
| Inflows | |
| iShares | $384M |
| Invesco | $173M |
| State Street | $9M |
| Outflows | |
| Quadratic | ($8M) |
| Stone Ridge | ($2M) |
| KraneShares | $0M |
For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth FI: Specialty 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.
