> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.focusalpha.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# ETF Fund Flows

> Daily ETF creations and redemptions in currency, computed from split-adjusted share changes and the prior day's NAV.

ETF Fund Flows reports daily creations and redemptions for an ETF share class, expressed in the fund's currency. Each observation is associated with an `etf_id`, a valuation date, the previous valuation date it was measured against, and a status saying whether the flow could be trusted. Flows are calculated by FocusAlpha rather than reported by the issuer.

<Info>
  **Plan:** Fund · **Credits:** 1 per call
</Info>

## What You Can Use ETF Fund Flows For

Identify which funds are gathering assets and which are bleeding them, independent of market moves. Separate a change in assets under management into performance and flow. Rank a peer group by twenty-day net flow to find where money is rotating. Cross flows against [ETF Classification](/etf/classification) to measure flows into a sector, a factor or a wrapper type rather than into a single fund.

## How ETF Fund Flows Are Calculated

Flow for a day is the change in split-adjusted shares outstanding since the previous valuation date, multiplied by the previous day's split-adjusted NAV. That is the standard construction: new shares are created and redeemed at NAV, so the share count is what moves when money moves.

Because both inputs are split-adjusted, a share split does not produce a phantom flow.

## Key ETF Fund Flow Fields

`valuation_date` is the date the flow is attributed to. `previous_valuation_date` is the date it was measured against, which is not always the prior calendar day. `shares_change` is the change in split-adjusted shares outstanding. `flow` is that change valued at the previous day's NAV, in the fund's currency; a negative value is a net redemption. `flow_status` says whether the number is usable.

## Why an ETF Fund Flow Can Be Null

A `flow` of null with a `flow_status` of `no_flow` means shares multiplied by NAV did not reconcile to the fund's filed net assets on that day, so no flow number is published for it. FocusAlpha does not invent a number when the identity fails; a null here is a refusal, not a gap.

Days where the fund did not publish, or published only part of the inputs, likewise carry no flow.

## ETF Fund Flow Date Convention

`valuation_date` is the date the flow is attributed to, and it matches the `valuation_date` of the underlying [NAV series](/etf/nav). `previous_valuation_date` is the earlier date used in the difference. When a fund skips a publication day, the two dates are more than one session apart and the flow covers the whole gap — read `previous_valuation_date` before annualising or summing.

## ETF Fund Flow Sources

Flows are calculated by FocusAlpha from issuer-published shares outstanding and issuer-published NAV. No vendor flow estimate is used, and no flow is modelled from price or volume.

## Query ETF Fund Flows

Use the ETF history endpoint with `series=flow` to retrieve the daily flow series for one fund.

<ParamField path="id" type="string" required>
  `etf_id` (`E000011`), a ticker (`SPY`), an ISIN, or a CUSIP.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="series" type="string" required>
  Set to `flow` for this dataset.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="date_gte" type="string">
  Earliest valuation date to return, `YYYY-MM-DD`. `date_lte` sets the ceiling.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="limit" type="integer" default="250">
  Rows per page, between 1 and 1000. Pages run newest to oldest via `cursor`.
</ParamField>

To screen many funds by flow at once rather than reading one fund's history, use the `min_flow_20d` and `max_flow_20d` filters on [ETF Screening](/etf/screening).

## Related Datasets

See also [ETF NAV and Shares Outstanding](/etf/nav) for the inputs this series is built from, [ETF Screening](/etf/screening) for cross-fund flow filters, and [ETF Classification](/etf/classification) for grouping flows by segment.

<RequestExample>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl "https://api.focusalpha.ai/v1/etfs/SPY/history?series=flow&date_gte=2026-08-25" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOCUSALPHA_API_KEY"
  ```
</RequestExample>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json Response theme={null}
  {
    "etf_id": "E000011",
    "ticker": "SPY",
    "series": "flow",
    "data": [
      {
        "valuation_date": "2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z",
        "previous_valuation_date": "2026-08-28T00:00:00.000Z",
        "shares_change": "250000.0",
        "flow": "192344105.00000000000000000",
        "flow_status": "ok"
      },
      {
        "valuation_date": "2026-08-28T00:00:00.000Z",
        "previous_valuation_date": "2026-08-27T00:00:00.000Z",
        "shares_change": "350000.0",
        "flow": "269945611.25000000000000000",
        "flow_status": "ok"
      }
    ],
    "next_cursor": "Fri Aug 28 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)",
    "coverage": {
      "available_from": "1993-01-29",
      "available_to": "2026-08-31",
      "note": "One merged daily series; each value carries its own date and basis status."
    }
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>