ETF Fund Flows (Week Ending 1/25/08)

In sum, across all 648 U.S. ETFs on the market for more than a week, there was a net $1.38 billion in redemption activity last week. All told, there were 122 ETFs with net creation activity and 118 ETFs with net redemption activity.

Largest Net Creations

The list of ETFs with the largest creations this week focuses on ETFs serving primarily the trader market. Four ProShares funds make the list, all of which are on the leveraged positive side: Ultra QQQ (QLD), Ultra S&P 500 (SSO), Ultra Dow30 (UYG) and Ultra Financials (DDM). That suggests to me that some people were making big bets on a quick rebound in U.S. equity markets.

The Select Sector SPDRS also figure prominently on the list, with the Select Sector SPDR (XLF) leading all funds with $1.65 billion in net creations. Consumer Discretionary (XLY), Energy (XLE) and Materials (XLB) also make the list.

Although there's no way to be sure, much of the demand this week likely came from short demand. As much as I want to have faith in the contrarian bent of ETF investors, I'm guessing there wasn't a huge surge in long demand for the QQQQs.

Top 20 ETFs By Creation Activity - Week Ending January 25, 2008
Fund	Ticker	Creation Shares	Dollar Value
Select Sector SPDR-Financial	XLF	60,650,000	$1,650,286,500
iShares S&P 500	IVV	12,050,000	$1,605,903,500
Select Sector SPDR-Consumer Discretionary	XLY	16,500,000	$508,530,000
Select Sector SPDR-Energy	XLE	7,100,000	$490,255,000
iShares DJ US Real Estate	IYR	5,600,000	$357,448,000
iShares MSCI-Mexico	EWW	4,800,000	$249,984,000
ProShares Ultra QQQ	QLD	3,225,000	$248,099,250
Oil Services HOLDRS	OIH	1,377,400	$224,846,776
SPDR S&P Retail ETF	XRT	7,250,000	$215,542,500
ProShares Ultra S&P500	SSO	3,000,000	$202,260,000
DJIA DIAMONDS	DIA	1,500,000	$182,940,000
Select Sector SPDR-Materials	XLB	4,700,000	$180,856,000
iShares S&P 100 Index	OEF	2,650,000	$164,883,000
Market Vectors Gold Miners	GDX	2,150,000	$103,888,000
iShares Lehman TIPS	TIP	900,000	$97,524,000
ProShares Ultra Financials	UYG	2,550,000	$90,984,000
ProShares Ultra Dow30	DDM	1,200,000	$84,516,000
iShares MSCI-EMU	EZU	800,000	$83,576,000
iShares Lehman 7-10 Year Treasury	IEF	900,000	$81,108,000
iShares Russell MidCap Value	IWS	600,000	$77,304,000

Largest Net Redemptions

The ProShares funds also show up in large numbers on the highest redemption list, with four funds making the cut. The largest redemptions, however, took place in some of the largest funds on the market: S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) at $1.68 billion; iShares MSCI Japan at $1.20 billion (EWJ); iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) at $1.07 billion; and PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQQ) at $1.01 billion.

Top 20 ETFs By Redemption Activity - Week Ending January 25, 2008
Fund	Ticker	Creation Shares	Dollar Value
S&P 500 SPDR	SPY	(12,600,000)	($1,675,548,000)
iShares MSCI-Japan	EWJ	(94,200,000)	($1,199,166,000)
iShares Russell 2000	IWM	(15,500,000)	($1,068,415,000)
PowerShares QQQ	QQQQ	(22,200,000)	($1,006,770,000)
iShares MSCI-Emerging Markets	EEM	(6,150,000)	($828,835,500)
S&P 400 MidCap SPDR	MDY	(2,050,000)	($287,451,000)
iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25	FXI	(1,750,000)	($269,517,500)
ProShares UltraShort QQQ	QID	(4,350,000)	($209,278,500)
iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend	DVY	(3,150,000)	($183,330,000)
ProShares UltraShort S&P 500	SDS	(2,775,000)	($182,511,750)
iShares Nasdaq Biotech	IBB	(2,150,000)	($165,528,500)
United States Oil Fund LP	USO	(2,300,000)	($163,024,000)
PShares UltraShort FTSE/Xin China 25	FXP	(1,650,000)	($153,697,500)
PShares UltraShort Real Estate	SRS	(1,350,000)	($152,806,500)
Select Sector SPDR-Industrial	XLI	(3,150,000)	($113,022,000)
iShares MSCI-Australia	EWA	(4,000,000)	($108,040,000)
Select Sector SPDR-Utilities	XLU	(2,700,000)	($103,086,000)
iShares S&P 500/BARRA Value	IVE	(1,400,000)	($98,854,000)
iShares Russell 1000 Growth	IWF	(1,650,000)	($90,337,500)
iShares MSCI-Pacific ex-Japan	EPP	(600,000)	($86,142,000)

Data from the American Stock Exchange.

Written by Matthew Hougan