Thepsql fatal role root does not exist U.S. stock market falling to the cusp of a bear market didn’t slow ETF investors. They still added nearly $50 billion to U.S.-listed ETFs in December, propelling 2018 into the record books as the year with the second-largest inflows ever.

The $315.4 billion that ETFs collected in 2018 was behind only 2017’s $476.1 billion haul, an impressive showing in a volatile year for financial markets. In December, the S&P 500 plunged, briefly falling as much as 20% below its all-time high.

Yet remarkably, ETF investors added money to their U.S. equity holdings during the month. For 2018 as a whole, $135.7 billion entered U.S. equity ETFs.

The

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV)

, the

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)

and the

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI)

were among the biggest winners in the space, each with inflows of $9 billion or more.

Robust inflows for those funds more than offset the $16.5 billion that came out of the

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)

and the $5.4 billion that came out of the

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF)

.

IEFA Gains, EFA Sheds Assets

Meanwhile, international equity ETFs also saw inflows in 2018, to the tune of $69.6 billion—a strong showing considering outstanding concerns about Europe, China and emerging markets more broadly.

In fact, the

iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA)

took in the most money of all ETFs, $20.8 billion. On the other hand, the more expensive

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA)

was No. 2 on the outflows list, with redemptions of $10.6 billion.

The

iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU)

, the

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ)

and the

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM)

also shed assets.

Short-Term Bonds Popular

U.S. fixed income, another area to get hit by volatility during the year, gained fresh assets from ETF investors. A cool $87.8 billion flowed into the space, even as interest rates gyrated wildly. The U.S. 10-year bond yield climbed to a seven-year high of 3.26% in November, before falling to an 11-month low of 2.68% in December, mirroring the quick shift in the economic outlook.

Short-term Treasury ETFs were the biggest winners of investors’ desire to capture higher rates, while minimizing interest rate risk. The

iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF (SHV)

more than doubled its assets, taking in a whopping $12.7 billion. The

iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY)

and the

SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL)

also did well, with inflows of $9.3 billion and $6.6 billion, respectively.

In contrast, corporate bond ETFs like the

iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD)

, the

SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF (JNK)

and the

iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG)

were shunned, all losing billions in assets.

Story continues

For a full list of the top inflows and outflows for 2018, see the tables below:

Top Gainers (December 2018)

Ticker

Name

Issuer

Net Flows ($,mm)

AUM ($M)

% of AUM

YTD 2018 Net Flows($,M)

SHV

iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF

BlackRock

3,395.75

20,687.81

16.41%

12,694.07

SHY

iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF

BlackRock

3,381.76

20,629.91

16.39%

9,316.16

IWD

iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF

BlackRock

2,627.33

37,311.63

7.04%

604.91

AGG

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

BlackRock

2,582.80

56,794.17

4.55%

5,420.43

BSV

Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF

Vanguard

2,371.13

27,912.76

8.49%

4,187.62

IVV

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

BlackRock

2,304.09

148,093.14

1.56%

18,545.81

VEA

Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF

Vanguard

2,079.77

64,829.81

3.21%

9,551.29

VTI

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF

Vanguard

2,003.29

93,681.39

2.14%

9,823.25

ACWI

iShares MSCI ACWI ETF

BlackRock

1,935.96

10,536.62

18.37%

2,901.94

IWB

iShares Russell 1000 ETF

BlackRock

1,901.82

17,448.18

10.90%

-1,799.04

Top Gainers (Year-to-Date)

Ticker

Name

Issuer

Net Flows ($,mm)

AUM ($M)

% of AUM

December 2018 Net Flows($,M)

IEFA

iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF

BlackRock

20,804.56

52,076.53

39.95%

860.27

IVV

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

BlackRock

18,545.81

148,093.14

12.52%

2,304.09

IEMG

iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

BlackRock

15,726.60

49,031.76

32.07%

1,377.31

VOO

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

Vanguard

13,938.13

89,746.25

15.53%

-2,040.86

SHV

iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF

BlackRock

12,694.07

20,687.81

61.36%

3,395.75

VTI

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF

Vanguard

9,823.25

93,681.39

10.49%

2,003.29

VEA

Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF

Vanguard

9,551.29

64,829.81

14.73%

2,079.77

SHY

iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF

BlackRock

9,316.16

20,629.91

45.16%

3,381.76

VTV

Vanguard Value ETF

Vanguard

8,513.52

41,061.36

20.73%

1,199.05

BIL

SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF

State Street Global Advisors

6,628.21

8,571.24

77.33%

1,540.89

Biggest Losers (December 2018)

Ticker

Name

Issuer

Net Flows ($,mm)

AUM ($M)

% of AUM

YTD 2018 Net Flows($,M)

XLF

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund

State Street Global Advisors

-3,226.34

22,636.73

-14.25%

-5,358.98

VOO

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

Vanguard

-2,040.86

89,746.25

-2.27%

13,938.13

SPY

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

State Street Global Advisors

-1,197.30

241,315.23

-0.50%

-16,507.12

FLOT

iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF

BlackRock

-1,004.73

11,315.45

-8.88%

4,828.07

SRLN

SPDR Blackstone / GSO Senior Loan ETF

State Street Global Advisors

-872.59

2,224.58

-39.23%

10.42

EMB

iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF

BlackRock

-810.42

14,130.35

-5.74%

3,393.54

EZU

iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF

BlackRock

-754.60

6,380.78

-11.83%

-7,003.15

VGT

Vanguard Information Technology ETF

Vanguard

-712.45

17,179.38

-4.15%

-136.86

MTUM

iShares Edge MSCI U.S.A. Momentum Factor ETF

BlackRock

-699.68

7,921.28

-8.83%

3,186.96

VGK

Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF

Vanguard

-655.42

12,761.78

-5.14%

-2,501.29

Biggest Losers (Year-to-Date)

Ticker

Name

Issuer

Net Flows ($,mm)

AUM ($M)

% of AUM

December 2018 Net Flows($,M)

SPY

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

State Street Global Advisors

-16,507.12

241,315.23

-6.84%

-1,197.30

EFA

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF

BlackRock

-10,630.26

62,007.95

-17.14%

1,417.02

EZU

iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF

BlackRock

-7,003.15

6,380.78

-109.75%

-754.60

LQD

iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

BlackRock

-6,830.59

29,561.61

-23.11%

-551.74

XLF

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund

State Street Global Advisors

-5,358.98

22,636.73

-23.67%

-3,226.34

JNK

SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF

State Street Global Advisors

-5,110.49

6,749.40

-75.72%

-213.14

DXJ

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund

WisdomTree

-4,497.26

3,676.55

-122.32%

-513.50

EEM

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

BlackRock

-3,991.23

29,222.02

-13.66%

723.10

HYG

iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

BlackRock

-3,498.92

13,123.04

-26.66%

-650.54

VNQ

Vanguard Real Estate ETF

Vanguard

-3,387.56

27,778.81

-12.19%

-603.98

Asset Classes (December 2018)

Net Flows ($, mm)

AUM ($, mm)

% of AUM

U.S. Equity

15,215.91

1,872,625.44

0.81%

International Equity

16,777.97

731,511.39

2.30%

U.S. Fixed Income

17,429.50

589,853.63

2.97%

International Fixed Income

-1,049.50

65,159.70

-1.79%

Commodities ETFs

1,346.45

62,619.57

2.13%

Currency

43.95

1,798.70

2.44%

Leveraged

615.43

29,940.26

2.06%

Inverse

-1,290.53

11,468.34

-11.25%

Asset Allocation

664.07

9,317.76

7.13%

Alternatives

75.95

5,225.76

1.45%

Total:

49,829.19

3,379,520.54

1.47%

Asset Classes (Year-to-Date)

Net Flows ($, mm)

AUM ($, mm)

% of AUM

U.S. Equity

135,717.05

1,872,625.44

7.24%

International Equity

69,644.17

731,511.39

9.54%

U.S. Fixed Income

87,755.52

589,853.63

14.97%

International Fixed Income

10,962.95

65,159.70

16.02%

Commodities ETFs

906.67

62,619.57

1.44%

Currency

-59.70

1,798.70

-3.32%

Leveraged

7,740.81

29,940.26

25.84%

Inverse

827.82

11,468.34

7.22%

Asset Allocation

1,509.17

9,317.76

16.20%

Alternatives

478.60

5,225.76

9.16%

Total:

315,483.08

3,379,520.54

9.33%

December 2018 League Table

Issuer

Net Flows ($,M)

AUM ($,M)

% of AUM

YTD 2018 Net Flows($,M)

BlackRock

36,222.60

1,337,583.40

2.71%

134,266.19

Vanguard

11,023.35

850,327.88

1.30%

84,757.46

State Street Global Advisors

-1,648.25

568,122.90

-0.29%

-648.35

Invesco

718.89

168,046.08

0.43%

5,868.41

Charles Schwab

2,461.74

114,475.14

2.15%

28,362.95

First Trust

-925.75

61,013.60

-1.52%

9,986.38

WisdomTree

-273.58

35,323.75

-0.77%

-5,126.04

VanEck

527.72

34,173.08

1.54%

4,147.60

ProShares

-391.65

26,843.91

-1.46%

3,335.31

JPMorgan

2,891.19

20,061.57

14.41%

15,717.30

PIMCO

-122.50

18,321.14

-0.67%

3,906.48

Northern Trust

-404.30

14,149.04

-2.86%

-0.58

ALPS

175.87

11,652.07

1.51%

-300.09

Deutsche Bank

-441.58

10,890.40

-4.05%

-961.08

Rafferty Asset Management

271.99

10,809.76

2.52%

2,225.16

Fidelity

-660.64

10,653.01

-6.20%

2,836.50

Goldman Sachs

263.60

10,102.79

2.61%

4,487.82

Mirae Asset Global Investments

-218.31

8,049.08

-2.71%

1,772.69

UBS

34.98

5,808.03

0.60%

119.75

Barclays Bank PLC

-265.82

4,901.48

-5.69%

1,449.03

New York Life

187.75

4,049.12

4.64%

894.57

Exchange Traded Concepts

-145.83

4,015.88

-3.63%

-55.89

Credit Suisse

-454.73

3,635.95

-12.51%

498.53

Pacer Financial

238.07

3,224.98

7.38%

1,773.94

OppenheimerFunds

99.40

3,195.76

3.11%

1,155.81

The Principal Financial Group

11.02

3,005.00

0.37%

1,092.83

Victory Capital Management

-66.91

2,931.82

-2.28%

1,053.68

John Hancock

456.68

2,762.02

16.53%

1,967.14

ETF Managers Group

-81.65

2,760.00

-2.96%

1,346.68

US Commodity Funds

119.02

2,453.85

4.85%

-770.11

Aberdeen Asset Management

67.44

2,422.78

2.78%

-80.51

Hartford

322.49

2,389.76

13.49%

2,226.55

KraneShares

-7.78

1,973.56

-0.39%

1,251.70

ARK

-31.87

1,909.15

-1.67%

1,395.91

Franklin Templeton Investments

55.41

1,607.21

3.45%

768.29

USAA Asset Management

23.06

1,105.20

2.09%

920.84

Northern Lights

-26.76

1,083.52

-2.47%

439.68

Janus Henderson

59.35

982.27

6.04%

733.45

Legg Mason

5.78

777.87

0.74%

155.17

Millington Securities Inc

-18.83

776.16

-2.43%

-113.85

Transamerica

9.70

727.62

1.33%

-56.80

CitiGroup

135.64

722.61

18.77%

454.06

Innovator Capital Management

47.83

705.06

6.78%

328.21

AdvisorShares

-43.80

657.09

-6.67%

-141.78

Virtus

-17.59

656.28

-2.68%

-44.00

Columbia

-57.96

631.87

-9.17%

-489.41

Cambria

3.32

619.16

0.54%

7.58

O’Shares Investment Advisers

-170.23

559.00

-30.45%

-53.55

Davis

19.50

535.01

3.64%

304.37

Nuveen

11.58

526.72

2.20%

177.26

Amplify

-37.40

474.20

-7.89%

389.01

GraniteShares

3.61

380.33

0.95%

358.57

Alpha Architect

-7.78

374.04

-2.08%

138.37

Highland Capital Management

-100.13

372.14

-26.91%

-164.42

Nationwide Fund Advisors

-1.32

319.59

-0.41%

0.17

Montage Managers

110.75

278.94

39.70%

189.74

Strategy Shares

-3.69

272.12

-1.35%

236.90

PGIM Investments

66.10

265.89

24.86%

168.31

Aptus Capital Advisors

11.67

207.05

5.64%

171.37

Reality Shares

-7.97

202.61

-3.93%

131.87

The RBB Fund

-0.79

175.06

-0.45%

189.38

Arrow Investment Advisors

-2.40

157.84

-1.52%

5.05

Merk

2.49

143.33

1.74%

9.24

ClearShares

0.00

125.51

0.00%

23.65

TrimTabs Asset Management

-6.41

119.85

-5.35%

90.48

US Global Investors

2.80

96.12

2.92%

-2.21

American Century

3.29

78.63

4.18%

55.50

Exponential ETFs

0.05

62.24

0.08%

17.32

BMO

-233.94

61.23

-382.06%

-157.10

EntrepreneurShares, LLC

-0.76

60.54

-1.25%

14.68

Natixis

2.05

48.66

4.22%

13.89

FQF Trust

14.62

47.91

30.52%

19.89

Redwood Investment Management

1.10

47.64

2.31%

51.97

OBP Capital LLC

-2.41

42.02

-5.74%

-1.15

Premise Capital

0.00

32.88

0.00%

15.09

Point Bridge Capital

0.00

30.73

0.00%

3.06

Morgan Stanley

-0.00

22.83

-0.02%

-8.50

Diamond Hill

1.42

22.78

6.25%

6.28

Advisors Asset Management

0.00

22.10

0.00%

19.79

Cboe Vest Financial

4.09

21.92

18.66%

23.54

Validea Capital Management

0.00

21.61

0.00%

0.03

Gadsden

9.38

21.58

43.49%

21.89

AlphaMark Advisors

0.00

20.75

0.00%

-1.35

Active Weighting Advisors

0.51

17.46

2.95%

5.00

Metaurus Advisors

0.00

16.91

0.01%

13.45

Distillate Capital Partners

1.23

16.49

7.43%

18.10

Renaissance Capital

0.00

15.72

0.00%

-1.21

Sage Advisory Services

0.00

14.47

0.00%

4.84

CSOP

0.72

11.07

6.50%

5.66

Cushing

10.00

8.92

112.11%

10.00

StrongVest

0.00

8.46

0.00%

0.00

Salt Financial

0.54

8.19

6.56%

9.45

SL Advisors

0.00

8.09

0.00%

6.50

USCF Advisers

-1.92

7.29

-26.35%

-1.78

Little Harbor Advisors

0.00

6.01

0.00%

6.90

TigerShares

0.00

5.81

0.00%

6.13

Impact Shares

-0.00

5.45

-0.03%

6.10

Regents Park Funds

0.00

5.04

0.00%

3.82

Defiance ETFs

0.00

4.92

0.00%

6.08

Change Finance

0.91

4.39

20.74%

1.87

SerenityShares

0.00

3.81

0.00%

0.00

TriLine Index Solutions

0.00

3.80

0.00%

4.91

EquBot

0.00

3.12

0.00%

3.74

Whitford Asset Management

0.00

0.55

0.00%

-1.91

Swedish Export Credit

0.00

0.00

0.00%

0.00

Disclaimer: All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern time the date the article is published. Data is believed to be accurate; however, transient market data is often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges.

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