Published on 9 Apr 2024 on Zacks via Yahoo Finance

5 ETFs That Gained Investors' Attention Last Week

Overall, ETFs pulled in $20.6 billion in capital last month, taking year-to-date inflows to $196.4 billion. U.S. equity ETFs led the way higher with $6.8 billion in inflows, followed by inflows of $5.7 billion in U.S. fixed-income ETFs and $5.5 billion in international equity ETFs.Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO, iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF IEFA, iShares MSCI Japan ETF EWJ, iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF AGG and Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF COWZ dominated the creation list last week.U.S. stocks struggled at the start of April after a strong first quarter. The Dow Jones suffered its biggest weekly percentage drop since March 2023, plunging 2.3%, while the S&P 500 shed 1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.8%. Increasing tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over the Fed’s rate cut path dampened the market's hot start to the year.The hotter-than-expected manufacturing data dashed hopes for an interest rate cut in June. Manufacturing activities unexpectedly expanded in March 2024 for the first time since September 2022, according to data by the Institute for Supply Management, on a sharp rebound in production and stronger demand. In February, new orders for the United States-manufactured goods grew more than expected, boosted by demand for machinery and commercial aircraft.Meanwhile, the 10- and 30-year yields rose to their highest levels since November (read: Capitalize on Yield Surge With Inverse Treasury ETF).We have detailed the ETFs below:Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)Vanguard S&P 500 ETF topped the asset flow creation last month, gathering $2.4 billion in capital. It tracks the S&P 500 Index and holds 505 stocks in its basket, each accounting for no more than 7.2% of the assets. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is heavy on the information technology sector, while consumer discretionary, industrials and healthcare round off the next three spots with a double-digit allocation each (read: S&P 500's Bull Run to Continue: ETFs to Bet On).Vanguard S&P 500 ETF charges investors 3 bps in annual fees and trades in an average daily volume of 4.7 million shares. It has AUM of $434.2 billion and a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with a Medium risk outlook.iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA)iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF accumulated $776 million in capital last week. It offers exposure to a broad range of companies in Europe, Australia, Asia and the Far East and follows the MSCI EAFE IMI Index. It holds a broad basket of 2,825 stocks, with each accounting for less than 2.1% share.With an AUM of $114.4 billion, iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF has an expense ratio of 0.07% and trades in an average daily volume of 8.3 million shares. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a Low risk outlook.iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ)iShares MSCI Japan ETF raked in $760.5 million in capital last week. It has exposure to large and mid-sized companies in Japan and tracks the MSCI Japan Index. It holds 218 stocks in its basket, with none accounting for more than 6.5% of assets. iShares MSCI Japan ETF is tilted toward the industrial sector at 22.2% share, while consumer discretionary, information technology and financials round off the next three spots with double-digit exposure each.iShares MSCI Japan ETF has AUM of $17 billion and charges 50 bps in annual fees. It trades in a volume of 8.6 million shares a day on average. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) with a Medium risk outlook (read: BoJ Ends Negative Rate Era: ETFs to Win).iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG)iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF saw an inflow of $708 million. It offers broad exposure to U.S. investment-grade bonds by tracking the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF holds 11,634 securities in its basket with an average maturity of 8.43 years and an effective duration of 6.03 years.iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has AUM of $104.7 billion and an average daily volume of 8 million shares. It charges 3 bps in annual fees.Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF (COWZ)Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF gathered $688 million in capital last week. It is a strategy-driven ETF that aims to provide capital appreciation over time by screening the Russell 1000 for the top 100 companies based on free cash flow yield. A high free cash flow yield indicates that a company is producing more cash than it needs to run the business and can invest in growth opportunities.COWZ holds 101 stocks in its basket and has amassed $23 billion in its asset base. It trades in an average daily volume of 2 million shares and charges 49 bps in annual fees.

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