November ETF Asset Report

Wall Street saw a stellar November, with SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (ASX:SPY) adding 3.3% and SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) ETF Trust ( (TSXV:DIA) ) and Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ rising about 4.1% each.

Hopes of the phase-one trade deal, moderate earnings and holiday shopping spree regulated the ETF world in November. Still, the value quotient prevailed in the market on worries of the fate of the U.S.-China trade deal. Against this backdrop, let’s see which ETFs raked in solid assets and which lost.

U.S. Equities Top

Wall Street scaled a fresh high in November. In fact, there was a broad-based rally in the market on hopes of a trade deal. No wonder, SPY accumulated about $3.96 billion in assets in the month. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO and the Nasdaq-100-based QQQ accumulated about $1.85 billion and $1.43 billion in assets in November (read: 10 Top-Ranked ETFs Beating S&P 500 This Year).

Dividend & Quality Rule

Despite positive developments from the Fed and trade, concerns prevailed in the market. Investors should note that despite easy money policies by the Fed this year, economic data points were mixed. As a result, investors sought safety in quality and dividend ETFs. iShares Edge MSCI U.S.A. Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) garnered about $1.14 billion in assets while Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF VYM amassed about $1.27 billion. As benchmark bond yields were on the higher side in November, investors tapped this high-yield dividend ETF (read: Top ETF Stories of November).

Financials Prevail

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) hauled in about $1.60 billion in assets in the month, thanks to steepening of the yield curve. A favorable earnings picture and compelling value in the segment led investors to flock to financials (read: 3 Reasons to Bet on Bank ETFs Now).

Developed Economies: Investors’ Favorite

Investors poured about $1.35 billion into assets iniShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ). iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) grossed about $2.73 billion. Easy money policy in most developed economies probably led to the move.

Treasuries Lose Appeal

Because of a steady rise in the long-term U.S. treasury bond yields, treasury ETFs fell out of investors’ favor. iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (NASDAQ:TLT) ETF ( (NZ:TLT) ) shed about $1.04 billion in assets in the month. Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF ( (CSE:SCHO) ) and iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF ( (ASX:SHV) ) also saw an asset loss of $579 million and $508.7 million, respectively.

Gold Loses Luster

Thanks to renewed risk-on sentiments, long-term yields rose in the month. This acted against non-interest-bearing assets like gold. Also, gold normally acts as a safe-haven asset and thus failed to maintain its mojo amid a soaring market. SPDR Gold Trust (P:GLD) (TSXV:GLD) lost about $932.8 million in assets in the month (read: Is it Time to Buy Gold ETFs?).

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