It looks like ETFs are taking over the world. At least that was the term many analyst and investors defaulted to when they looked at the share of stock market volume that ETFs held through August.
According to Birinyi Associates analyst Kevin Pleines 70 billion shares changed hands last month, an 86% increase from the previous month. In August, ETF trading accounted for 29% of all the US exchange volume.
Shares traded in SPY (S&P 500) rose 104%, FAS (financials) trading rose 200% and VXX (volatility) rose 119%. Volume in all leveraged ETFs rose 114% and accounted for 19% of all ETF shares traded in August.
The 86% increase in shares trading is a phenomenal stat, especially if you think about it from a month-to-month basis.
What ETF Performed the Best in August?
The ETF that performed the best last month was the TVIX, a leveraged ETF tracking the VIX, or CBOE volatility index. It jumped 135%. The worst performing ETF was the XIV, an inverse VIX tracker, which fell nearly 51%.
You may want to look into the TVIX ETF, as it looks like that one will continue to perform strong.