SonicShares' BOAT Topped Last Week's ETF Returns

A small ETF that tracks shipping companies gained the most last week as prices of those firms' shares gain thanks to surging costs to transport items over seas.

The $51.1 million SonicShares Global Shipping ETF (BOAT) rose 6.1% last week, according to etf.com data. It's gained 19% so far this year, beating the 9.9% gain in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). The fund has pulled in $6.3 million year-to-date, including $2.4 million of outflows in the past few months.

According to the table below, silver exchange-traded funds were among the best performers, grabbing four of the top 10 spots. The $233.5 million IShares MSCI Global Silver And Metals Miners ETF (SLVP) added 5.9% for a total gain this year of 45%. It's pulled in $19.2 million so far this year. 

Shipping company shares are jumping as fighting around the Red Sea forces cargo vessels onto longer routes to safely bring goods around trouble zones. The Shanghai Container Freight Index calculates rates from China ports and has gained 31% this year, according to a MarketWatch story. Shares of shipping giant A.P. Møller-Mærsk have gained 25% this month.

Meanwhile, $30 billion flowed into U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds last week, bringing year-to-date inflows up to $230.3 billion. The bulk of the money went into U.S. equity ETFs and U.S. fixed income ETFs, though international equity and fixed income ETFs attracted solid inflows as well.

Top flows gainers last week included the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the Vanguard 500 Inde Fund (VOO), which had inflows ranging from $2.3 billion to $3.4 billion. 

A chart and full story can be seen here. 

Top 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded

Disclaimer: All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern time the date the article is published. Data is believed to be accurate; however, transient market data is often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges.