SGOV Adds $1.1B in New AUM as Bond Buying Leads the Way

ETF investors leaned cautiously bullish to close out the week, adding $5.3 billion to U.S.-listed funds on Friday. As always, single-day flow numbers can be noisy, but there were some clear trends worth highlighting.

Fixed income was the big winner. U.S. bond ETFs brought in more than $3.5 billion on the day, led by inflows into ultra-short-term Treasury products. The iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) topped the charts with $1.1 billion in new money, while the SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) added another $411 million. Meanwhile, the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) saw $697 million in inflows, suggesting continued demand for high-quality yield.

Stocks weren’t left behind entirely. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) pulled in $970 million and $866 million, respectively. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) also had a strong showing, with just under $510 million in net creations.

But not every equity ETF had a good day. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) saw a hefty $2.5 billion in outflows, topping the redemptions list. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and its leveraged cousin, the ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ), also shed more than $800 million combined, suggesting some rotation out of tech-heavy names.

Leveraged ETFs broadly were in the red, with more than $602 million in outflows on the day. Commodity ETFs also posted modest outflows.

All in all, Friday’s flows paint a picture of investors staying cautiously positioned—still adding to broad equity exposure but keeping plenty of dry powder in ultra-safe Treasury bills.

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