On The Fly: ETF fund flow highlights

For the week creations bested redemptions by a factor of 1.1 to 1, per data from ETF.com. The four largest inflows were to the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY). iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG), the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), and iShares Gold Trust (IAU). That is a second week running in which gold has figured prominently in the flow data. The move into dividends and bonds also suggests something defensive has crept into investor psychology. On the redemptions side more than 56% of outflows were from S&P 500 ETFs in the form of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE), Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), and Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP). Russell funds also saw notable redemptions in the form of the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF). The outflows story supports the thesis that investors are becoming more risk averse as the rally extends.