Anonymous ID: d33cc1 March 30, 2020, 8:16 a.m. No.8623421   ๐Ÿ—„๏ธ.is ๐Ÿ”—kun   >>3567 >>3693 >>3743

Fading Funding Squeeze Spurs $3 Billion Exit From Cash-Like ETFs

 

Roughly $2.2 billion exited from BlackRock Inc.โ€™s $22.4 billion iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF, ticker SHY, on Friday in the biggest one-day outflow since 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Meanwhile, investors pulled nearly $1.2 billion from State Street Corp.โ€™s $2.7 billion SPDR Portfolio Short Term Treasury ETF, ticker SPTS, for the fundโ€™s largest withdrawal on record.

 

As a funding squeeze gripped financial markets, short-term Treasury securities became a hot spot, forcing investors to prioritize liquidity above all else. Demand has lessened after the Federal Reserve unleashed unprecedented measures to cushion the economic blow from the coronavirus, from credit-purchasing facilities to dollar swap lines. That helped restore order to global markets and stabilize risk assets, according to James Pillow, managing director at Moors and Cabot Inc. At the height of the cash crunch earlier this month, traders were selling even their highest-quality bonds in an effort to raise funds to cover losses in other assets. That sparked demand for the perceived safety of cash-like short-term Treasuries, putting ETFs that track the securities on course for their best month ever.

 

The Fed was able to stem the sell-off with massive liquidity injections and a pledge to buy investment-grade corporate bonds and certain ETFs. High-grade credit has rebounded as a result, while the $38 billion iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond fund โ€“ the largest credit ETF โ€“ attracted a record $6.3 billion worth of inflows last week. https://www.bloomberg.com//news/articles/2020-03-30/fading-funding-squeeze-spurs-3-billion-exit-from-cash-like-etfs