BofA clients keep selling stocks, buying ETFs
SPY•BofA clients were net sellers of U.S. stocks for a second straight week, withdrawing $11 billion from individual stocks, while adding $3.2 billion to equity ETFs for a 15th consecutive week. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3%.
1. Stocks sold, ETFs bought
BofA clients were net sellers of U.S. stocks for a second straight week. Individual stocks saw $11 billion in outflows, the third-largest weekly withdrawal in BofA's data dating back to 2008, while equity ETFs attracted $3.2 billion, extending their buying streak to 15 weeks.
2. Sector flows diverged
Institutions were the main sellers, while hedge funds and retail investors were net buyers; retail recorded its first inflows since late July. Clients sold stocks in nine of the 11 S&P sectors, with technology seeing the heaviest outflows, while materials and real estate attracted fresh money. Healthcare ETFs drew the most buying, and technology ETFs had the largest withdrawals.
3. Buyback activity
Corporate buybacks picked up and remained slightly above seasonal norms, but year-to-date buybacks were tracking below 2024 and 2025 levels. Rolling 52-week buybacks as a share of S&P 500 market capitalization were at their lowest since August 2021.
