XLF Saw Inflows of $552 Million the Week Ended November 20
Investors Pour in to Financial ETFs before Fed’s December Meeting
Fund flows
Exchange-traded fund investors have added $549 million to the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) portfolio in the month of November so far. During the week ended November 20, the ETF witnessed inflows of $552 million. So far during the year, investors have pulled out $16.4 billion from the XLF portfolio.
Year-to-date, XLF has underperformed the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and has returned -0.7%. During the week ended November 20, the XLF ETF gained 3.1% as the possibility of a rate hike in December increased after a positive jobs report and better-than-expected GDP growth.
Institutional investor holdings
The 13F filings of major institutional asset managers for 3Q15 give a mixed picture for the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF).
In 3Q15, trade activity by 13F filers displayed a 7.6% reduction in aggregate shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds. Among the 580 13F filers holding the stock, 200 funds reduced their exposure to XLF, while 69 funds sold all their holdings of XLF. However, 57 funds created new positions and 231 funds increased their exposure to XLF.
Major institutional holders like Nomura (N), Passport Capital, Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), and BNP Paribas have increased their exposure to XLF in the third quarter. Among these, Passport Capital added fresh holdings of XLF to its portfolio.
Institutions that have significantly reduced their exposure are UBS, Moore Capital, Morgan Stanley, and Gruss Capital. Among these, Moore Capital and Gruss Capital have sold all their shares of XLF.
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