Over the last week Equity ETFs have seen some of the largest outflows of the year, and got a jump on the “sell in May” phenomenon. Equity ETFs have lost an astounding -$8.4B in assets in just 5 days. SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust), the largest ETF by assets, was the biggest contributor to the outflows, representing 45% of the week’s outflows.
Here are top equity ETFs that led the outflows:
So where has the money gone?
Bonds & Gold funds have seen a good chunk of Inflows over the last week.
The Bond ETFs that added the most assets were: LQD (iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF) +$588M, AGG (iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF), +$476M, and TIP (iShares TIPS ETF) added +$424M.
Gold has been all over the media the last couple weeks but this has been a huge theme of 2016. Gold ETFs: GLD, IAU combined added another +$1.1B last week. Note YTD these two ETFs have added a colossal +$9.2B in assets.
So, do these equity outflows mean equities are doomed for the rest of year? Not necessarily, but it may be wise to take some profits here after a huge rally in equities over the last 2+ months.
Follow on Twitter: @cfromhertz for daily updates on ETF Fund Flows.