For the second consecutive week equity exchange-traded funds experienced net outflows, handing back some $2.8 billion, while their conventional mutual fund brethren took in $0.5 billion—for their twenty-second consecutive week of net inflows, according to Lipper data.
Given the recent concerns over China’s slowing growth rate, interest-rate-sensitive securities and defensive issues, and tapering quantitative easing, it wasn’t surprising to see SPDR S&P 500 ETF (-$2.6 billion), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Fund (-$2.2 million), and Health Care Select Sector SPDR (-$0.5 million) at the bottom of the pack for ETFs, according to Tom Roseen, head of research at Lipper.
“While their interest was waning, mutual fund (ex-ETFs) investors kept their focus on equity mutual funds, injecting a net $0.5 billion for the week,” wrote Roseen.
“Domestic equity funds witnessed their first net redemptions in six weeks, handing back $769 million, while their nondomestic equity fund counterparts took in almost $1.3 billion, bringing in net new money for 23 of the last 24 weeks. On the domestic side investors appeared to give a cold shoulder to large-cap funds, redeeming some $628 million net from the group. Mutual fund investors once again embraced emerging market funds, injecting a net $1.9 billion into this group.”
