Money Flows to Fixed Income ETFs in Q1

Yesterday we released our complete list of Exchange Traded Funds for the first quarter ending March 31, 2009. During the first quarter ETF and ETN assets totaled approximately $475 billion, down from the $541 billion at year end 2008, representing a 12% drop in assets. The number of issues also decreased from 845, to 839 during the same period.

Listed below are the ten largest ETFs by net assets, and the change since December 31, 2008. By analyzing the change in asset value, and performance of the fund over the quarter, you can start to see where investors’ money is flowing.

According to our data, money was flowing into fixed income during the first quarter, as assets in iShares iBoxx Corporate Bond (LQD) and iShares TIPS Bond (TIP) both increased over 30%, while their performance was -6.4% and 3.5%, respectively. Assets in the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) increased over 10%, while the fund’s return was -0.6%.

One of the more exciting developments in the ETF community has been the increasing popularity of the Direxion 3x funds, which have grown to over $3 billion under management since their funds’ inceptions beginning in November 2008, and up from $1 billion at the end of 2008. The biggest gainer in assets was the Financial Bull 3x (FAS), which gained over $1 billion in assets during the quarter.

The Excel file which contains all 839 funds and is available for download on etfplanet.com for personal use. All data contained in the file is from Morningstar, and will be updated quarterly going forward.

Disclosure: no position

Comments

[DONE_SONZ:]

(FAS) not looking so good.

Apr 21 06:56 AM

[MANFRED:]

THE SHARES GO UP AND DOWN !!!!!!NOT BAD FOR DAYTRADING ,i keep most of my shares for long term 1- 1/12 years

Apr 21 01:00 PM

[Etf Planet:]

while the performance of FAS hasn't been great, the interest in the issue is what the article is focused on. As more people buy the fund, more shares are created to meet the demand.

Apr 21 01:44 PM