Tag Archives: lipper-alpha-insight

Hot Launches

By Jeff Tjornehoj Click to enlarge With just $23.9 billion in net inflows this year, exchange-traded products (ETPs) are having their slowest start since the first five months of 2010 when only $18.7 billion in net inflows were made. But the industry continues to launch new products anyway and through this week (May 18) another 88 products have been unveiled. We took a look to see which ones have had the best luck attracting cash. Through May 18 the fastest-growing ETP is the SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF (NYSEARCA: SHE ) , which tracks a market-cap weighted index of large U.S. companies that that exhibit gender diversity in their senior leadership positions; it’s attracted $264 million this year. Not too far behind in the asset race, the WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International Equity Fund (BATS: DDWM ) has brought in $238 million. This fund holds a basket of dividend-weighted stocks headquartered outside of the U.S. and Canada and dynamically hedges foreign currency exposure for U.S. dollar investors. While three others have managed to accumulate $50 million in assets so far, the rest of this year’s launches are still waiting for investors to find them: the remaining 81 launches this year collectively hold $700 million or just as much as these five.

U.S. Fund Flows Report: Investors Shy Away From Equity Funds

By Patrick Keon Click to enlarge Thomson Reuters Lipper’s fund macro-groups (including both mutual funds and exchange-traded funds [ETFs]) experienced net outflows of approximately $266 million for the fund-flows week ended Wednesday, May 11. This almost-static outcome was the result of negative net flows from equity funds (-$6.1 billion) and taxable bond funds (-$514 million), offset by similar positive net flows into money market funds (+$5.1 billion) and municipal bond funds (+$1.2 billion). Equities bounced back from two straight weeks of losses on the strength of one trading day. After losing roughly 2.5% combined in the previous two weeks the S&P 500 Index posted a gain of 0.3% this past week, all of which was captured on Tuesday, May 10, as the index appreciated 1.25% for the day. This one-day spike represented the best daily return for the index in two months and was driven by a surge in oil prices as well as a rally in some beaten-down sectors. Oil prices rose on the news that U.S. crude inventories would not increase as much as they have in recent weeks. Meanwhile, sentiment on the street was that the interest in healthcare and biotech stocks was not sustainable, since it was most likely driven by value hunters and was not an actual bullish view of the sectors. The outflows from equity funds were basically split down the middle between mutual funds (-$3.1 billion) and ETFs (-$3.0 billion). Among mutual funds domestic equity funds saw $3.2 billion leave their coffers, while nondomestic equity had net inflows of $100 million. For ETFs nondomestic products accounted for the majority of the net outflows, with the iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (BATS: EZU ) ( -$950 million ) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA: EEM ) ( -$933 million ) leading the way. Taxable bond ETFs (-$1.1 billion) were responsible for all of the net outflows for the group, while taxable bond mutual funds took in almost $700 million of net new money. The iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA: HYG ) ( -$1.5 billion ) and the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSEARCA: TLT ) ( -$697 million ) had the largest net outflows among the ETFs, while funds in Lipper’s Core Plus Bond Funds category had the largest net inflows (+$1.1 billion) among the mutual funds. Municipal bond mutual funds extended their string of net inflows to 32 weeks-taking in $1.1 billion of net new money this past week. Funds in the High Yield Muni Debt Funds (+$287 million) and General and Insured Muni Debt Funds (+$278 million) classifications were the largest contributors to the week’s inflow totals. This past week’s flows activity (+$5.1 billion net) marked the third consecutive week of positive flows for money market funds, during which time they took in $16.7 billion of net new money. Funds in Lipper’s Institutional Money Markets Funds classification were responsible for all of the net inflows for the group this past week (+$9.2 billion).

Quiet Week For Equities Doesn’t Stop Equity Fund Redemptions

By Jeff Tjornehoj Equity markets were flat for the fund-flows week ended Wednesday, April 27. The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved only a little more than 100 points between its highest and lowest closes and finished the week down 55 points (or minus 0.3%). This past week equity exchange-traded fund (ETF) authorized participants were responsible for sending about $3.2 billion into SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY ) and $487 million into the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA: IWM ) while pulling $675 million from the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA: XLP ). As is their habit these days, equity mutual fund investors pulled $4.5 billion (net) from their funds and brought the year-to-date equity mutual fund outflows to $18.3 billion. High-yield fund investors were of different minds this week: High-yield mutual funds saw net inflows of $555 million, while high-yield ETFs saw net outflows of $258 million. Bond ETFs gathered $260 million of net inflows. The week’s biggest individual bond ETF net inflows belonged to the iShares Core Total U.S. Bond Market ETF ( AGG , +$242 million). Municipal bond mutual fund investors added a whopping $1.1 billion net to their accounts, which was the highest amount since the last week of 2015. As seasonal tax payments ebbed, money market funds saw net inflows of $5.0 billion for the week.