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ETFs across various categories pulled in about $13 billion in capital last week, pushing year-to-date inflows to $362 billion. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust IBIT, iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF IXUS, iShares MSCI Intl Quality Factor ETF IQLT and iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF USHY dominated the top creation list last week (read: 5 Best Stocks of the S&P 500 ETF in the Past Month).
The surge in inflows came on the back of a strong Wall Street rally last week that has raised risk appetite. The S&P 500 logged its longest winning streak since 2004. The benchmark recorded its first nine-day winning streak in nearly two decades, jumping 10.2%. With this rally, the S&P 500 erased all the losses incurred during the early April market downturn triggered by President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement.
Increasing hopes of a U.S. trade deal with major trading partners and solid corporate earnings buoyed sentiment. Several reports suggest that the United States and China are willing to negotiate on tariffs and put an end to the trade conflict. Chinese officials have signaled reopening trade talks with Washington, while President Trump said on Sunday that he wants a "fair deal" with China.
Strong quarterly earnings reports from software giant Microsoft (MSFT) and Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) spread strong optimism in the tech sector. The dual earnings outperformance underscores that strong demand for AI is helping both companies navigate tariff-driven economic uncertainty (read: AI ETFs Set to Gain on Robust Meta, Microsoft Earnings).
Meanwhile, April jobs data show that the U.S. labor market remained resilient amid the tariff chaos. The economy added better-than-expected 177,000 jobs while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, providing further assurance about the economy's health.
We have detailed the ETFs below.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is the top asset creator, pulling in $3.9 billion in capital. It tracks the S&P 500 Index and holds 505 stocks in its basket, each accounting for no more than 7% of the assets. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is heavy on the information technology sector, while financials, healthcare and consumer discretionary round off the next three spots with a double-digit allocation each. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF charges investors 3 bps in annual fees. It has an AUM of $608 billion and trades in an average daily volume of 11.6 million shares. VOO sports a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with a Medium risk outlook (read: Can S&P 500 ETFs Continue Their Winning Streak?).
iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)
iShares Bitcoin Trust raked in $2 billion in capital last week. It seeks to reflect the performance of the price of Bitcoin and has been the most traded Bitcoin ETF since its launch. It enables investors to access Bitcoin within a traditional brokerage account. The fund charges 25 bps in annual fees from investors. IBIT has AUM of $56.8 billion and trades in an average daily volume of 49 million shares.
iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (IXUS)
iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF has gathered $$1.4 billion. It offers exposure to a broad range of international developed and emerging market companies by tracking the MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI Index. iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF holds a well-diversified 4,241 stocks with key holdings in financials, industrials, information technology and consumer discretionary. It has AUM of $42.3 billion and trades in an average daily volume of 4.7 million shares. IXUS charges 7 bps in annual fees per year.
iShares MSCI Intl Quality Factor ETF (IQLT)
iShares MSCI Intl Quality Factor ETF saw inflows of $1.1 billion. It offers exposure to large- and mid-cap developed international stocks exhibiting positive fundamentals (high return on equity, stable year-over-year earnings growth and low financial leverage). Holding 292 stocks in its basket, IQLT has key exposure in financials, industrials and health care. It has amassed $10.3 billion in its asset base and charges 30 bps in fees per year. iShares MSCI Intl Quality Factor ETF trades in an average daily volume of 3 million shares.
iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (USHY)
iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has accumulated $948.8 million in capital. It targets the U.S. dollar-denominated, high-yield corporate bonds and follows the ICE BofA US High Yield Constrained Index. iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF holds 1,913 bonds in its basket with an average maturity of 4.11 years and an effective duration of 3.12 years. iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF trades in an average daily volume of 23 million shares and charges 8 bps in annual fees. It has AUM of $21 billion.