Thematic Weekly: $699M in New Assets as iShares Dominates Inflows

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Weekly Channel Summary

The EQ: Thematic channel currently houses 409 ETFs across 105 issuers, representing $321.3 billion in total Assets Under Management. Over the past week, the space saw a net positive flow of $699 million. This continues a strong longer-term trend, with year-to-date inflows standing at $20.73 billion and massive 1-year flows totaling $69.14 billion.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Sustainability led the thematic categories this week with a solid 1.62% gain, while FinTech also managed positive territory at 1.04%. On the other end of the spectrum, Precious Metals suffered the steepest drop, falling -7.73% for the week, though it remains up a healthy 10.13% year-to-date.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Sustainability 1.62% -3.34% 6.60% 19.10% 7.58% 53.64%
FinTech 1.04% -1.12% -13.63% -17.09% -7.62% 35.98%
Midstream & MLPs -0.47% 2.46% 16.74% 17.54% 16.80% 19.42%
Disruptive Tech -0.52% -2.16% -5.45% -3.95% -4.83% 25.45%
Infrastructure -0.54% -3.55% 9.29% 13.73% 9.93% 36.54%
Industrial Revolution -1.27% -3.64% 5.33% 11.18% 5.18% 42.67%
Natural Resources -1.38% -4.74% 12.27% 27.66% 9.81% 63.46%
Thematic – Multi-Sector -1.58% -3.19% -4.53% -1.73% -3.73% 27.01%
Evolving Consumer -2.51% -3.39% -14.13% -15.49% -11.35% 10.91%
Health Innovation -2.66% -4.29% -5.68% 13.40% -4.88% 24.98%
Alternative Equity -3.71% -10.58% -16.90% -19.08% -16.17% -12.03%
Precious Metals -7.73% -8.18% 13.01% 44.70% 10.13% 139.55%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

Among individual funds, the WGMI (CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF) was the top performer, surging 5.99% for the week. Meanwhile, silver and gold mining faced extreme pressure, leaving the SLVR (Sprott Silver Miners & Physical Silver ETF) and GDXJ (VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF) at the bottom of the pack, declining -9.07% and -8.77% respectively.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
WGMI CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF 5.99%
BKCH Global X Blockchain ETF 5.45%
CTEX ProShares S&P Kensho Cleantech ETF 5.37%
BITQ Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF 5.25%
CRPT First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry & Digital Economy ETF 5.24%
Bottom Performers
SLVR Sprott Silver Miners & Physical Silver ETF -9.07%
GDXJ VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF -8.77%
AUMI Themes Gold Miners ETF -8.53%
GOAU U.S. Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF -8.37%
GBUG Sprott Active Gold & Silver Miners ETF -8.19%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The thematic channel took in roughly $699 million in net new money this week. Industrial Revolution was the primary beneficiary, attracting $407 million to push its total AUM to $20.5 billion. Infrastructure also saw robust interest with $378 million in inflows. Conversely, Evolving Consumer experienced the heaviest redemptions, losing $81 million in assets.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Industrial Revolution 39 $20.5B $407M $956M $3,995M $3,604M $8,421M
Infrastructure 42 $50.8B $378M $2,024M $6,257M $5,348M $14,607M
Natural Resources 56 $58.2B $68M $1,411M $10,281M $8,804M $14,571M
Midstream & MLPs 17 $24.9B $56M $262M $609M $555M $1,547M
Alternative Equity 9 $2.1B $19M $16M $97M $21M $581M
Thematic – Multi-Sector 45 $25.9B $5M -$410M $626M -$63M $6,915M
Health Innovation 23 $2.1B $0M -$107M $36M $74M -$64M
FinTech 25 $4.2B -$17M -$173M -$250M -$250M $172M
Disruptive Tech 63 $52.2B -$25M $235M $1,732M $1,541M $19,726M
Thematic – Precious Metals 15 $60.6B -$55M -$684M $3,219M $2,294M $3,968M
Sustainability 27 $7.4B -$57M -$32M $409M $368M $961M
Evolving Consumer 45 $12.4B -$81M -$1,255M -$1,764M -$1,572M -$2,268M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

On an individual fund level, the SHLD (Global X Defense Tech ETF) was the runaway leader for inflows, gathering a massive $338 million over the past five days. Selling pressure was most acute in natural resources and tech, with the COPX (Global X Copper Miners ETF) shedding $146 million and the CIBR (First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF) losing $92 million.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
SHLD Global X Defense Tech ETF $338M
XME State Street SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF $257M
BAI iShares A.I. Innovation and Tech Active ETF $141M
PAVE Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF $126M
MAGS Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF $105M
Outflows
COPX Global X Copper Miners ETF -$146M
CIBR First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF -$92M
ARKK ARK Innovation ETF -$90M
SIL Global X Silver Miners ETF -$69M
NANR State Street SPDR S&P North American Natural Resources ETF -$62M

Issuer League Table Update

Global X maintains its position as the top thematic issuer with a commanding 19.51% market share, followed closely by VanEck at 16.66%. From a flows perspective, iShares dominated the week by pulling in $316 million in net new assets, while ARK experienced the sharpest weekly outflows among the top tier, losing $115 million.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
Global X 36 $62.68B 19.51%
VanEck 18 $53.54B 16.66%
iShares 33 $51.10B 15.91%
First Trust 30 $41.47B 12.91%
ARK 7 $12.45B 3.88%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
iShares $316M
SPDR $195M
Global X $176M
Outflows
ARK -$115M
First Trust -$77M
Amplify -$47M

For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth Thematic 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.