Retail-cash flows to U.S. high-yield funds were negative $1.4 billion in the week ended Nov. 18, according to Lipper. This is a second consecutive large outflow, following $1.8 billion last week, for a combined redemption of $3.2 billion following inflows totaling $9.6 billion the five weeks prior.
Unlike recent weeks, the cashflow was not ETF-heavy, at just 26% of the outflow, or $354 million. Last week, for example, the large outflow was roughly 70% related to ETFs, or $1.3 billion of the withdrawal.
The trailing-four-week average contracts to positive $232 million per week this past week, from positive $1.4 billion last week and from positive $2.2 billion two weeks ago. The current observation is the lowest in five weeks.
The full-year reading slips to positive $1.5 billion, with an inverse measurement to ETFs. Indeed, the full-year reading is negative $824 million for mutual funds against positive $2.3 billion for ETFs, for an inverse 155% reading.
Last year, after 46 weeks, it was the opposite. There was a net inflow of $813 billion based on $1.04 billion of mutual fund inflows against $225 million of ETF outflows. (Recall that last year’s total tally at this point in the year included the all-time record $7.1 billion outflow in the week ended Aug. 6, 2014.)
The change due to market conditions last week was negative again this past week, at $1.5 billion, or almost fully 1% against total assets, which were $190.9 billion at the end of the observation period. (Note: any reconciliation to prior reports will show a disjointed asset pool due to some fund reclassifications. Please contact Lipper for details.) At present, ETFs account for $37.3 billion of total assets, or roughly 20% of the sum.
Recall that a change due to market conditions of negative $3.2 billion seven weeks ago, or nearly a 2% drop, at the depths of the September market sell-off, was the largest one-week plunge in 120 weeks, or roughly 2.3 years, dating to the $3.7 billion deterioration in the week ended June 26, 2013. — Matt Fuller