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ETF Asset Flow Roundup of Last Week

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Last week acted as a breather for Wall Street in recent times as the joint efforts of the Fed and the U.S. government led to a market rally. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq gained 10.3%, 12.8% and 9.1% last week, respectively, on the $2-trillion U.S. stimulus support and the Fed’s announcement of corporate bond buying and unlimited QE. Several global markets too followed suit (read: US Stimulus Should Support These 7 ETFs).

Amid this scenario, we highlight ETF asset flows from Mar 22 to Mar 26 (per etf.com).

Investment-Grade Corporate Bond ETF Tops

Failing to contain the coronavirus-led acute market rout by its crisis-era policy launch, the Fed announced a fresh set of stimuli on Mar 23. The Fed added that the purchases of Treasury and mortgage securities are unlimited.

Among other steps, the Fed confirmed it would buy investment-grade exchange-traded funds that track the corporate bond market, a first for the U.S. central bank. However, the Fed cannot own more than 20% of any one ETF or 10% of individual corporate bonds.

The very announcement has led iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD - Free Report) to haul in about $4.68 billion in assets last week (read: All-Out Fed Support: Buy Highly-Rated Corporate Bond ETFs).

Gold Maintains Glow

Gold recorded their biggest weekly gain since late 2008 on Mar 27, probably on greenback weakness. Gold bullion SPDR Gold Trust (GLD - Free Report) has raked in about $2.25 billion in assets.

S&P 500 Gathers Assets

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO - Free Report) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY - Free Report) have added about $1.26 billion and $1.01 billion in assets, respectively, in the past week. As the S&P 500 has been extremely battered, investors tapped its cheaper valuation.

Short-Term Treasuries Gain Investors’ Favor

SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL - Free Report) and iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY - Free Report) added about $1.38 billion and $1.08 billion, respectively. Liquidity is the need of the hour as financial markets have been going berserk in the past month. So, short-term bond ETFs like BIL and SHY that yield about 1.89% and 2.02% annually amid a very low yield environment garnered solid investor interest (read: Invest in These Cash-Like ETFs).

Emerging Markets Lose

Emerging markets ETF Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO - Free Report) lost about $581.7 billion as investors fled the risky investing area. The greenback strength may have made investors cautious about emerging market investing.

Ultra-Short Income ETFs Shed Assets Too

PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF (MINT - Free Report) and JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF (JPST - Free Report) shed about $704.7 million and $580 million in assets, respectively.

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