Vanguard Inflows Topped 2022, Beating iShares

Vanguard Group, the second-biggest exchange-traded fund issuer, kept the crown for the most inflows in 2022, narrowly beating BlackRock Inc.’s iShares, its larger rival.

Meanwhile, Newport Beach, California-based Pacific Investment Management Co. posted the biggest losses.

Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Vanguard pulled $192 billion into its ETFs, according to ETF.com data, despite the worst equity environment since 2008 and the harshest bond market in decades. Its total topped the $171 billion that New York-based BlackRock’s iShares’ unit took in. This is the third year in a row that Vanguard has posted the largest annual inflows among U.S. issuers.

Pimco ETFs shed nearly $3.4 billion, the biggest outflows the firm has ever recorded. Its bond-heavy exchange-traded products lost investments as yields soared, battering bond investments.

The overall ETF market struggled last year as investors sought safe havens from a roiling world economy, which was hit by rising inflation, soaring interest rates, a brutal attack by oil-rich Russia on grains-rich Ukraine and massive supply chain disruptions. ETFs brought in $614 billion in 2022, ETF.com data shows, falling short of the record $900 billion haul it drew in the year prior. U.S.-based ETFs hold just over $6.4 trillion in assets.

The worst-performing Pimco-brand ETFs include the PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF (MINT), the PIMCO 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond Index ETF (HYS) and the PIMCO 1-5 Year US TIPS Index ETF (STPZ), which have collectively scrapped nearly $1.1 billion in the last 30 days, according to ETF.com data. 2022 was the worst year for bonds on record; however, fixed income ETFs were one of the only asset classes to post year-over-year gains.

Pimco’s 32 ETFs collectively house $21 billion in assets.

On the other side of the ledger, Vanguard funds that gained investor favor included the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI), the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV), which brought in $6 billion collectively in the last 30 days, ETF.com data show.

Vanguard currently has 81 ETFs listed on U.S. markets, with nearly $1.9 trillion in assets under management.

Contact Shubham Saharan at [email protected]