There is a simple reason why five of the 10 worst exchange-traded funds in terms of fourth-quarter outflows are fixed income funds. However, before explaining further, it should be noted that the iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond Fund (NYSE: AGG) is this quarter's top asset gatherer.
The fixed income funds' prevalence can be attributed to investors expecting this will be the month when the Federal Reserve raises interest rates for the first time in nine years.
There is also increasing chatter that the U.S. central bank will move forward with as many as four rate hikes next year, bringing the benchmark rate to 1.25 percent by the end 2016. Investors' current treatment of bond ETFs is a stark departure from October, when four of the top five asset-gathering ETFs and five of the top 10 overall to start the fourth quarter were bond funds.
Fed's Influence On Sentiment
Predictably, the Federal Reserve loomed large in the ETF decisions ...
/www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/15/12/6028346/corporate-bond-etf-ideas-for-a-rising-rate-environment alt=Corporate Bond ETF Ideas For A Rising Rate Environment>Full story available on Benzinga.com
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