February Favorite: VOO Takes the Lead, IBIT Bitcoin Fund Attracts $4.5 Billion Inflows

The flow of funds for the S&P 500 index ETFs has seen drastically different patterns; meanwhile, the BlackRock Bitcoin Fund, IBIT, attracted $4.5 billion.

The flow of funds for the S&P 500 index ETFs has seen drastically different patterns; meanwhile, the BlackRock Bitcoin Fund, IBIT, attracted $4.5 billion.

In February 2024, Vanguard's VOO, the third-largest ETF in the United States, attracted the most investor funds globally among all exchange-traded funds, while the world's largest ETF, SPY by State Street Bank, experienced the most outflows.

The contrasting flow of funds between these two S&P 500 index funds may suggest investors' belief that the market's growth, which surged by 30% over the past year, is slowing down.

Last month, VOO raised $6.11 billion, managing assets worth $413.3 billion, while SPY saw withdrawals of $6 billion, managing assets worth $500.6 billion. Despite SPY experiencing outflows of $27 billion this year, it recently became the first ETF to manage assets exceeding $5 trillion.

VOO has seen inflows of $16 billion so far this year, typically considered representative of long-term trading momentum, while SPY may be more utilized for short-term trading. VOO has a management fee of 0.03%, lower than SPY's 0.09%, and allows dividend reinvestment.

Analysts point out, "The outflows from SPY may reflect the cautious attitude of short-term traders and other market timers." "Regardless of the circumstances, long-term funds remain fairly stable, but short-term funds flow based on sentiment."

Another indicator of investor attention to large-cap S&P 500 index funds is that iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) has attracted the most inflows so far this year, with assets totaling $442.5 billion and bringing in $16 billion in revenue this year.

Additionally, last month, the previously non-existent spot Bitcoin fund attracted billions of dollars in funds, with $4.48 billion pouring into the iShares Bitcoin Trust Fund (IBIT).