Broad Equity Redemptions of $1.5B Countered by Robust Demand for Multisector Bonds and Gold

Issuer League Tables

Absolute issuer flows for the most recent session showed a concentration of activity within the top-tier brands, led by Invesco with $1,001M in net daily creations. PIMCO followed with $591M, significantly exceeding its 5-day average of $1,006M. Conversely, iShares and Vanguard experienced the largest absolute redemptions, losing $1,736M and $1,074M respectively. These outflows represent a deviation from the positive 30-day trends for both issuers, which stand at $111,046M for iShares and $30,864M for Vanguard.

Issuer Flows (Absolute)

Relative flow data highlighted a significant rebalancing event at Sterling Capital, where 1-day flows reached 49.20% of total AUM. PLUS and Oakmark also saw relative strength, with daily flows of 6.19% and 4.55% of AUM, respectively. On the laggard side, Freedom Day experienced a notable relative outflow of 13.51% of its $126M asset base. These relative shifts often indicate targeted strategy adjustments within smaller issuer footprints compared to the broader market.

Issuer Flows (Relative)

Daily ETF Flow Analysis

Aggregate asset class activity was led by Fixed Income, which captured $2,744M in net new assets during the reported session. Non-Traditional and Digital Asset classes also recorded positive daily momentum, net-creating $222M and $154M respectively, despite significant 1-week redemption trends for Digital Assets. Equity ETFs experienced the largest contraction, with net redemptions totaling $1,547M, though this remains well above the 1-month flow of $142,528M. Total ETF flows for the session were $2,250M, bringing the YTD total to $61,424M.

Asset Class Flows

Category-level analysis revealed a robust preference for Fixed Income: Taxable – Multisector, which led all categories with $1,062M in daily flows. Equity: Emerging Large Cap and Commodity: Focused – Precious Metals also showed strength, attracting $979M and $657M respectively. Conversely, Equity: U.S. Large Cap – Blend saw the heaviest redemptions at $4,324M, followed by U.S. Large Cap Growth at $612M. These movements underscore a rotation away from broad U.S. large-cap equity segments.

Top 10 Category Flows

Bottom 10 Category Flows

U.S. Size & Style

U.S. Size and Style segments faced broad redemption pressure, led by a $4,324M outflow from Large Cap – Blend. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight (RSP) provided a notable offset with $918M in daily inflows, contrasting with the $2,357M loss from Vanguard S&P 500 (VOO). U.S. Small Cap – Value was the primary style leader, net-creating $153M. Overall, the Large Cap segment saw a daily reduction of $5,192M, while Small Cap ETFs gained $227M.

Size & Style ex-U.S.

International equity flows focused on Emerging Large Cap funds, which collectively attracted $979M. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM) and iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets (IEMG) led the group with $364M and $297M in daily creations, respectively. Global Ex-U.S. Large Cap – Blend also showed positive momentum with $376M in net flows. Capital Group Global Growth (CGGO) was the primary outlier in redemptions, losing $247M on the day.

Sector & Industry

Industrial and Health Care sectors led sectoral flows, net-creating $953.30M and $870M respectively. State Street’s Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was the top individual fund with $626M in daily creations. The Information Technology sector experienced the largest reversal, shedding $157M on a daily basis despite a 1-month inflow of $1,205M. State Street’s Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) suffered the heaviest fund redemptions, losing $396M.

Region & Country

Regionally, Asia-Pacific ETFs led creations with $80M in daily flows, primarily driven by the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) which attracted $157M. Latin America followed with $77M in net flows, concentrated in the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) which net-created $66M. Japan-focused funds showed relative weakness as the First Trust Japan AlphaDEX (FJP) lost $68M. North American regional flows were flat for the session.

Thematic

Thematic equity flows were positive overall, net-creating $936M for the session. Disruptive Tech remained the dominant category leader, attracting $234M in daily flows, while Infrastructure saw $101M in net additions. Roundhill Magnificent Seven (MAGS) was the top fund creator with $155M. On the laggard side, VanEck Gold Miners (GDX) experienced daily redemptions of $38M, despite the broader category’s year-to-date strength.

Fixed Income

Fixed Income ETFs net-created $2,744M in the most recent session, significantly led by the Multi-Sector segment at $1,584M. Duration-wise, Intermediate-term funds captured the bulk of flows with $2,030M in creations. PIMCO Multisector Bond (PYLD) was the top individual leader, attracting $605M. Conversely, WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury (USFR) led redemptions with $107M, highlighting a shift away from ultrashort treasury duration.

Commodity

Commodity ETFs attracted $628M in net new assets, overwhelmingly concentrated in Precious Metals which saw $657M in creations. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) led all funds with $509M in 1-day flows, bringing its 1-month total to $5,595M. Energy commodities faced headwinds, losing $42M on the day, with United States Oil (USO) shedding $57M. Broad market multi-sector commodities saw minimal activity, net-creating only $3M.

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency ETFs experienced heavy redemptions totaling $1,359M on a 1-week basis, though the most recent session saw a return to positive flows for specific tickers. Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin (FBTC) was a bright spot with $112M in creations, whereas iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) lost $71M. Ethereum funds also contracted by $645M, led by an $80M loss in the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). Altcoin-focused funds bucked the trend slightly, net-creating $30M during the session.

Non-Traditional

Non-Traditional ETFs saw net daily inflows of $222M, reversing a 1-week redemption trend of $63M. Synthetic Income strategies were the primary driver, net-creating $586M on a daily basis. Sterling Capital Hedged Equity (SCEP) was the top fund creator with $198M. The Leverage & Inverse segment faced significant redemptions of $426M, with Direxion Semiconductor Bull 3x (SOXL) shedding $334M.

Recent Launches

The ETF landscape continues to expand with 347 launches over the past three months. Recent activity is dominated by BNY Mellon, which launched a suite of municipal and active bond funds on January 12th. BNY Mellon Municipal Opportunities (BMOP) leads these recent entries with $1,850M in seed capital. Innovator and Global X also remain active in the defined outcome and specialty bond spaces, with multiple new listings in early January.