We love deep diving into 13F holdings to better understand the shifting landscape of ETF ownership amongst the biggest institutional owners. Generally, institutions have 45 days after the end of the quarter to report their holdings. May 15, 2021 marks that day for the first quarter of 2021. In the following analysis we analyze the biggest shifts in ETF ownership as reported between the last two quarters.
Q1 2021 highlighted continued impressive growth in the ETF space as ETF share ownership grew by over 8% in a single quarter. ESG ownership increased by more than 50% of that baseline with a 12%+ increase in ESG shares held. Gold positioning decreased, highlighting the general “risk on” bull-mentality that pervaded into the new year and through most of Q1 and early Q2.
Obviously, 13F data should always be taken with a grain of salt. Institutions tend to pare down assets into quarter end and especially year end to keep their balance sheets looking slim. Also, the standard 45-day lag means that institutions have sufficient time to reposition their portfolios since last reporting publicly.
Here are some more interesting stats for Q1 2021. Any growth numbers are based on the Q4 2020 lookback:
- 8.84% Increase in number of shares owned
- 31 billion shares or $2.6 trillion in ETF assets measured
- 3000+ institutions reporting, at the time of writing some last minute 13F filings were not included.
- 12.3% increase in ESG shares held to reach $34bn in assets.
- 6.2% decline in Gold commodity ETFs held bringing total assets to $27bn. GLD dropping 17% of shares held and IAU losing 7% of shares held, quarter over quarter.
- 7.1% increase in Equity Dividend funds, bringing assets to $83bn. iShares DGRO, Schwab’s SCHD, and iShares DVY seeing the strongest positive growth in shares held.
Largest Institutional Positions and Ownership Change
SPY reigns supreme as the major S&P 500 positioning tool. However, VOO wins in terms of growth in shares held, followed by IVV. VOO and IVV have lower expense ratios than their older sibling, SPY.
Emerging Markets IEMG +10% and VWO +4.9% growth win out over Developed Markets IEFA, -1.6% and EFA -0.7%.
|
|
Ticker |
Name |
Asset Class |
$bn Held |
Q4->Q1 |
|
1 |
SPY US |
S&P 500 ETF TRUST ETF |
Equity |
$152.51 |
1.5% |
|
2 |
IVV US |
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF |
Equity |
$145.07 |
9.3% |
|
3 |
VOO US |
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF |
Equity |
$72.02 |
20.6% |
|
4 |
IWM US |
iShares Russell 2000 ETF |
Equity |
$53.11 |
11.6% |
|
5 |
IEFA US |
BTC iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF |
Equity |
$52.07 |
-1.6% |
|
6 |
VEA US |
Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF |
Equity |
$51.99 |
1.7% |
|
7 |
IEMG US |
iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF |
Equity |
$48.49 |
10.5% |
|
8 |
QQQ US |
Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 |
Equity |
$46.54 |
7.4% |
|
9 |
VTI US |
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF |
Equity |
$46.47 |
1.9% |
|
10 |
AGG US |
iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$42.70 |
3.6% |
|
11 |
VWO US |
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF |
Equity |
$34.78 |
4.9% |
|
12 |
LQD US |
iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$32.18 |
-17.1% |
|
13 |
VCIT US |
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$31.50 |
9.6% |
|
14 |
IJR US |
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF |
Equity |
$31.16 |
3.6% |
|
15 |
IJH US |
iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF |
Equity |
$31.03 |
-0.7% |
|
16 |
IWF US |
iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF |
Equity |
$30.64 |
-3.0% |
|
17 |
VUG US |
Vanguard Growth ETF |
Equity |
$28.69 |
-2.7% |
|
18 |
VTV US |
Vanguard Value ETF |
Equity |
$27.43 |
6.4% |
|
19 |
BND US |
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF |
Fixed Income |
$27.20 |
9.9% |
|
20 |
EFA US |
iShares MSCI EAFE ETF |
Equity |
$27.05 |
-0.7% |
Largest % Ownership Change in Equity-Focused ETFs with Over $1bn in Notional Held
A large ETF model portfolio shift into IYE was seen in Q1 2021, driving much of the assets into this US Energy sector-focused name. SMH and XRT saw big swings in opposite directions, highlighting the increased need for semiconductors and the decrease in fortunes of retail shopping. XHB homebuilders increase in positioning by end of Q1 is also quite impressive as that bet has paid off handsomely with recent price action.
|
|
Ticker |
Name |
Asset Class |
$bn Held |
Q4->Q1 |
|
1 |
IYE US |
iShares U.S. Energy ETF |
Equity |
$1.34 |
665.1% |
|
2 |
FXR US |
First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX Fund |
Equity |
$1.04 |
575.3% |
|
3 |
JPHY US |
JPMorgan High Yield Research Enhanced ETF |
Equity |
$1.35 |
323.3% |
|
4 |
EFV US |
BTC iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF |
Equity |
$7.07 |
147.2% |
|
5 |
VTWO US |
Vanguard Russell 2000 Index ETF |
Equity |
$1.00 |
67.9% |
|
6 |
RDVY US |
First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF |
Equity |
$1.43 |
60.8% |
|
7 |
IJJ US |
iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF |
Equity |
$4.23 |
56.3% |
|
8 |
KBE US |
SPDR S&P Bank ETF |
Equity |
$1.33 |
50.3% |
|
9 |
RSP US |
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF |
Equity |
$10.37 |
49.2% |
|
10 |
KRE US |
SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF |
Equity |
$3.36 |
48.9% |
|
11 |
XLE US |
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund |
Equity |
$9.82 |
39.6% |
|
12 |
SUSA US |
MSCI USA ESG Select ETF |
Equity |
$1.17 |
38.9% |
|
13 |
EWC US |
iShares MSCI Canada ETF |
Equity |
$2.11 |
38.3% |
|
14 |
SMH US |
VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF |
Equity |
$3.03 |
35.0% |
|
15 |
ARKK US |
ARK Innovation ETF |
Equity |
$3.92 |
32.9% |
|
16 |
XLF US |
Financial Select Sector SPDR |
Equity |
$19.66 |
32.6% |
|
17 |
ARKG US |
ARK Genomic Revolution ETF |
Equity |
$1.09 |
31.5% |
|
18 |
XRT US |
SPDR Retail ETF |
Equity |
$1.10 |
-30.3% |
|
19 |
XSOE US |
WisdomTree Emerging Markets ex-State-Owned Enterprises Fund |
Equity |
$1.84 |
29.9% |
|
20 |
XHB US |
SPDR Homebuilders ETF |
Equity |
$1.08 |
29.1% |
Largest % Ownership Change in Fixed Income-Focused ETFs with Over $1bn in Notional Held
The continued inverted yield curve and its ever-steepening slope have investors focused on expectations of increased inflation. We see big share ownership growth in TIPS names like STIP, VTIP and SCHP. High yield was a bit unloved as we saw SHYG and HYG positions pared down. Positioning on the medium-to-longer end of the treasury curve was strong, with names like SPTL, TLT, ITE, IEF increasing.
|
|
Ticker |
Name |
Asset Class |
$bn Held |
Q4->Q1 |
|
1 |
FALN US |
iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$1.22 |
748.5% |
|
2 |
IUSB US |
BTC iShares Core Total USD Bond Market ETF |
Fixed Income |
$8.06 |
121.7% |
|
3 |
SPTL US |
SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF |
Fixed Income |
$2.13 |
84.9% |
|
4 |
SRLN US |
SPDR Blackstone Senior Loan ETF |
Fixed Income |
$2.04 |
72.9% |
|
5 |
STIP US |
iShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$1.92 |
53.3% |
|
6 |
BKLN US |
Invesco Senior Loan ETF |
Fixed Income |
$3.19 |
40.7% |
|
7 |
SHYG US |
iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$1.83 |
-37.5% |
|
8 |
SCHP US |
Schwab U.S. Tips ETF |
Fixed Income |
$11.70 |
27.0% |
|
9 |
TLT US |
BTC iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$6.92 |
-25.0% |
|
10 |
MBG US |
SPDR Portfolio Mortgage Backed Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$2.89 |
23.5% |
|
11 |
IEF US |
BTC iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$7.90 |
22.3% |
|
12 |
VTIP US |
Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund |
Fixed Income |
$4.52 |
19.3% |
|
13 |
FLOT US |
BTC iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$2.38 |
17.4% |
|
14 |
LQD US |
iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$32.18 |
-17.1% |
|
15 |
FIXD US |
First Trust TCW Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF |
Fixed Income |
$2.26 |
16.2% |
|
16 |
ITE US |
SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Treasury ETF |
Fixed Income |
$1.78 |
15.6% |
|
17 |
VCSH US |
Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$19.35 |
14.2% |
|
18 |
SUB US |
iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$1.99 |
14.2% |
|
19 |
VTEB US |
Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$6.04 |
13.9% |
|
20 |
HYG US |
iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$13.32 |
-13.1% |
Largest New ETF Entrants on Holders Filings
New entrants are defined as ETFs that did not show up in Q4 2020 filings but made it to Q1 2021. Not all these names are necessarily new listings. Many names appear to be thematic in nature, TMAT is similar to the innovation-focused ARKK fund, SENT is focused on sentiment analysis through leveraging alternative datasets, maybe like scraping Reddit. Many new entrants are in the growing field of options-embedded strategies that offer structured-product like returns. Fairly recent players here are AllianzIM and CBOE Vest. By definition these ETFs will expire as they come to term and new ETFs will take their place further out in the calendar.
|
|
Ticker |
Name |
Asset Class |
$bn Held |
|
|
1 |
CLDS US |
Direxion Daily Cloud Computing Bear 2X Shares |
Equity |
$1.172 |
|
|
2 |
PSFF US |
Pacer Swan SOS Fund of Funds ETF |
Equity |
$0.172 |
|
|
3 |
IMFL US |
Invesco International Developed Dynamic Multifactor ETF |
Equity |
$0.133 |
|
|
4 |
HCRB US |
Hartford Core Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$0.130 |
|
|
5 |
FUNL US |
CornerCap Fundametrics Large-Cap ETF |
Equity |
$0.097 |
|
|
6 |
FJAN US |
FT Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF – January |
Equity |
$0.058 |
|
|
7 |
SENT US |
AdvisorShares Alpha DNA Equity Sentiment ETF |
Equity |
$0.055 |
|
|
8 |
TMAT US |
Main Thematic Innovation ETF |
Equity |
$0.051 |
|
|
9 |
JSCP US |
JPMorgan Short Duration Core Plus ETF |
Fixed Income |
$0.050 |
|
|
10 |
KNG US |
FT Cboe Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income ETF |
Equity |
$0.049 |
|
|
11 |
AZBJ US |
AllianzIM U.S. Large Cap Buffer20 Jan ETF |
Equity |
$0.049 |
|
|
12 |
UMI US |
USCF Midstream Energy Income Fund ETF |
Equity |
$0.044 |
|
|
13 |
EUCG US |
Euclid Capital Growth ETF |
Equity |
$0.043 |
|
|
14 |
AZAJ US |
AllianzIM U.S. Large Cap Buffer10 Jan ETF |
Equity |
$0.032 |
|
|
15 |
ONOF US |
Global X Adaptive U.S. Risk Management ETF |
Equity |
$0.031 |
|
|
16 |
JEMA US |
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Equity Core ETF |
Equity |
$0.029 |
|
|
17 |
ISWN US |
Amplify BlackSwan ISWN ETF |
Equity |
$0.029 |
|
|
18 |
HYMU US |
BlackRock High Yield Muni Income Bond ETF |
Fixed Income |
$0.021 |
|
|
19 |
KEMX US |
KraneShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index ETF |
Equity |
$0.021 |
|
