Retail ETF Investors Grow in Europe | ETF IQ 6/16/2025

ETF Market Trends & Flows - VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF) took in $14.5 billion last week, while IVV (iShares Core S&P 500 ETF) experienced outflows of $22.6 billion [2] - BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF) also saw inflows, indicating appetite for bonds [2] - QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust) experienced outflows of $1.9 billion [3] - ETFs charging 10 basis points or less are receiving less than half of the flows so far this year, a shift from previous years [22] - Leveraged ETF trade volume is near a record [23] Active vs Passive ETFs - Active ETFs now represent 51% of the marketplace, overtaking passively managed strategies in terms of the number of products [4] - Active ETFs are capturing 40% of net flows despite representing only 10% of assets, and are the majority of new launches [17] - BlackRock is one of the largest holders of active ETFs and has about 27 active ETF providers in its model portfolios [18][19] Investment Strategies & Portfolio Allocation - BlackRock rebalanced portfolios, increasing active bets on the equity overweight, specifically on the active ETF side [7] - BlackRock maintains treasuries as part of the risk-off portion of its portfolio but has recently added international developed bonds [12] - BlackRock added a 1% to 2% allocation to IBIT (iShares Bitcoin Trust) in portfolios that invest in alternatives [20] - Commodities should have a constant allocation in a portfolio to hedge against inflation and geopolitical risk [35][36] Oil Market & Geopolitical Risks - The conflict between Iran and Israel has been boosting crude energy prices [33] - The Invesco DB Oil Fund (DBO) tracks futures contracts on WTI and mitigates negative roll yield, with $224 million in total assets and a 076% expense ratio [31] - Geopolitical risks, particularly related to Iran and Russia/Ukraine, highlight the importance of having commodities like DBO in a portfolio [39] European Market - European defense is a growing theme, with $11 billion invested in the area due to the situation with Russia, Ukraine, and increased defense spending [26] - Year-to-date, Europe is up 23% while the U S is up 3% [28]