ETF Watch (Week Ending April 4)

By Matthew Hougan

Investors poured more than $9 billion into ETFs for the week ending April 4, 2008, showering the industry with new money and pushing total assets over management above $600 billion. 160 ETFs had net creation activity, while just 87 ETFs saw net redemptions.

Largest Net Creations

The Select Sector SPDR - Energy (XLE) led all ETFs in new creation activity for the week ending April 4, posting $1.6 billion in net creations. It's not clear if this is long or short demand: The price of crude oil is hitting new highs, while the "crack spread" (a key to refinery profits) is hitting new lows. Either way, assets in this fund surged for the week.

Dow Diamonds (DIA) also had a large influx of money, with $1.6 billion in new assets, while the iShares Lehman 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund (TLT) brought in nearly $900 million in new funds.

Scrolling down the list, a number of Select Sector Funds saw large creation activity, as well as a few ProShares UltraShort products.

Largest Net Creation Activity: Week Ending April 4, 2008
Fund Name	Ticker	Net Assets	Net Creation Activity
Select Sector SPDR-Energy	XLE	$6,376,479,648	$1,627,393,922
DJIA DIAMONDS	DIA	$12,019,389,487	$1,589,742,000
iShares Lehman 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund	TLT	$1,910,636,000	$894,140,000
PowerShares QQQ Trust	QQQQ	$18,243,569,500	$748,007,000
iShares S&P 500	IVV	$17,090,750,000	$630,200,000
Select Sector SPDR-Industrial	XLI	$2,085,811,773	$561,438,828
Select Sector SPDR-Utilities	XLU	$2,711,123,580	$418,683,756
iShares S&P SmallCap 600	IJR	$4,354,856,000	$374,880,000
iShares DJ US Real Estate	IYR	$2,236,160,000	$373,858,000
iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25	FXI	$6,069,615,000	$290,760,000
ProShares UltraShort Financials	SKF	$2,394,885,000	$257,677,500
iShares MSCI-Germany	EWG	$2,152,416,000	$249,834,000
Select Sector SPDR-Consumer Discretionary	XLY	$1,073,872,693	$231,481,608
ProShares UltraShort FTSE/Xinhua China 25	FXP	$638,444,250	$224,318,250
iShares MSCI-Mexico	EWW	$1,780,600,000	$196,480,000
United States Oil Fund LP	USO	$823,086,000	$191,222,000
S&P 500 SPDR	SPY	$83,964,566,383	$170,987,500
Select sector SPDR-Technology	XLK	$2,756,469,318	$157,207,500
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF	XME	$540,492,000	$155,484,000
iShares MSCI-EMU	EZU	$2,539,464,000	$139,225,000

Net Redemption Activity

Redemption activity was light for the week. Investors pulled more than $400 million out of the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), and more than $300 million out of S&P 400 MidCap SPDRs (MDY).

Largest Net Redemption Activity: Week Ending April 4, 2008
Fund Name	Ticker	Net Assets	Net Redemption Activity
iShares Russell 2000	IWM	$11,168,980,000	-$416,169,000
S&P 400 MidCap SPDR	MDY	$8,395,213,200	-$309,645,000
iShares S&P 100 Index Fund	OEF	$4,001,783,500	-$206,277,500
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Broker-Dealers Index Fund	IAI	$402,930,000	-$140,415,000
iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index Fund	DVY	$6,035,838,000	-$121,080,000
Select Sector SPDR-Financial	XLF	$8,177,976,502	-$117,566,475
KBW Bank ETF	KBE	$610,662,924	-$101,748,076
iShares MSCI-South Korea	EWY	$3,053,987,500	-$98,323,500
SPDR S&P Retail ETF	XRT	$257,067,500	-$87,900,500
iShares MSCI-Italy	EWI	$306,424,500	-$82,323,000
DJ Wilshire REIT ETF	RWR	$1,345,958,976	-$79,212,928
Oil Services HOLDRS	OIH	$2,666,734,268	-$77,597,972
Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF	GDX	$1,885,215,150	-$77,536,000
Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF	VO	$1,082,295,475	-$63,927,000
iShares DJ US Transportation	IYT	$447,050,000	-$53,646,000
iShares Russell 3000	IWV	$2,773,251,000	-$51,356,500
iShares Russell MidCap	IWR	$3,450,438,000	-$38,988,000
iShares Lehman 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Fund	SHY	$9,473,013,000	-$33,444,000
iShares Lehman TIPS Bond Fund	TIP	$6,621,013,000	-$32,403,000
Rydex Euro Currency Trust	FXE	$1,128,340,800	-$31,342,800

ETF League Table: Week Ending April 4, 2008

State Street Global Advisors rode strong demand for its Select Sector SPDRs and SPY ETFs to post the largest net creation activity by fund family, with more than $4.7 billion in net inflows. They rode that trend to more than $8.8 billion in total asset growth.

BGI pulled in the next largest amount of assets, at just over $3 billion. Its total assets jumped even higher - more than $11.9 billion - thanks to its largest asset base.

ProShares, PowerShares and Vanguard rounded out the top five by creation value

On the flip side, the HOLDRs saw the largest net redemptions by far, at more than $100 million.

ETF Families Sorted By Net Creation Activity For The Week Ending March 14, 2008
Family	Net Assets	Net Asset Change	Total Creation Value
SSgA	$164,608,916,504	$8,862,393,130	$4,728,359,030
BGI	$310,983,484,550	$11,896,637,600	$3,074,401,700
ProShares	$16,163,906,930	$53,164,580	$866,396,250
PowerShares	$38,080,434,000	$2,101,507,900	$764,291,400
Vanguard	$45,949,951,197	$1,924,717,935	$392,921,008
Victoria Bay	$1,326,792,000	$148,639,000	$185,289,000
MacroShares	$3,274,406,500	$24,000,000	$63,231,000
Xshares	$250,025,538	$10,250,445	$4,770,000
First Trust	$913,857,224	$37,388,403	$2,015,500
SPA	$16,683,466	$535,640	$0
RevenueShares	$15,281,225	$574,997	$0
Ziegler	$4,951,080	$171,360	$0
Greenhaven	$29,502,000	-$648,000	$0
FocusShares	$25,445,423	$1,696,797	$0
Fidelity	$83,736,000	$3,897,000	$0
Bear Stearns	$50,185,000	-$5,000	$0
Ameristock	$13,168,512	-$162,288	$0
Rydex	$6,040,470,048	$19,447,464	-$2,132,298
Claymore	$1,779,970,416	$86,470,464	-$2,861,000
WisdomTree	$4,458,292,000	$109,147,500	-$7,932,000
Van Eck	$5,144,495,650	-$14,178,525	-$77,708,500
HOLDRS	$7,653,099,179	-$14,940,488,946	-$104,859,117