The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) topped all equity ETF inflows with $4.7 billion in the week of January 20, while the world’s largest ETF, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), landed at the bottom with 7.3 billion dollars outflow, according to data from etf.com’s Pulse Tool.
The latest weekly flows highlight a steady shift in investor preferences between the market’s two biggest ETFs, with VOO holding nearly $618 billion in assets compared to SPY’s $635 billion, etf.com data shows.
The drastic contrast in weekly activity shows retail investors and cost-conscious financial advisors increasingly favor VOO’s 0.03% expense ratio over SPY’s 0.09% fee structure, pushing VOO to the brink of becoming the largest ETF on the world.
With about $17 billion separating the two funds’ assets under management, VOO’s consistent inflows relative to SPY’s recent outflows suggest a historic shift in ETF market leadership is nearing.
Optimism in the technology sector, mainly fueled by the development of artificial intelligence, has fueled the growth of funds in the technology sector. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) attracted 1.2 billion dollars of new assets, while VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) attracted $1 billion in a week, according to data from etf.com. The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPLG) raised just over a billion dollars.
Recent executive actions related to domestic energy policy may have contributed to outflows in the energy sector, such as SPDR Fund for Selected Energy Sector (XLE) lost $639.84 million, etf.com data show.
Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounding interest rates and potential regulatory changes weighed on financial sector funds, with SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) seeing $441.97 million in redemptions, according to etf.com figures.
The iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFAV) also recorded $754.52 million in outflows, while iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWD) experienced $1.7 billion in redemptions in the week, etf.com data revealed.
The JPMorgan International Research Enhanced Equity ETF (JIRE) rounded out the week’s notable moves with $294.23 million in outflows, according to etf.com data.
