ETF investors poured money into equities this week. The flows were broad, deep, and tilted firmly toward risk assets.
The US attracted $37.0B in net inflows over the past week. That is the largest single geography flow by far. A flow imbalance of 70.5 confirms buying pressure is running well ahead of selling.
Japan came in second at $12.4B net. Its imbalance of 81.1 is notably strong. Over three months, Japan has pulled in $158.3B, making it the second-biggest geography trend globally. Demand for Japanese equities is not a blip — it has been building for the entire quarter.
China grabbed $6.4B this week. Over three months, however, the picture is more mixed. China's 3m net flow of $5.9B is tiny relative to its gross flows ($164.3B in, $158.4B out). Institutions are trading China, not accumulating it with conviction.
Hong Kong stands out as the main geography loser. It bled $729M this week and $9.0B over three months. Its imbalance of 36.9 signals consistent selling pressure. India also saw outflows of $319M this week, a reversal from modest 3m inflows of $293M — worth watching.
Taiwan continues to attract steady flows. $1.3B arrived this week, extending $20.7B in 3m inflows. Semiconductor demand is likely driving this.
Information Technology pulled in the biggest sector net flow this week at $2.4B. Over three months it dominated even more sharply at $66.5B. No other sector came close on a 3m basis.
This week's other notable inflows: Financials ($1.1B), Consumer Discretionary ($607M), Materials ($424M), and Real Estate ($360M).
Energy was the clearest loser. It shed $198M this week and $4.4B over three months. Communication Services also slipped $134M in the week, though its 3m net is nearly flat.
The key rotation signal: Materials and Consumer Discretionary look strong this week but were negative over three months. Both are reversing recent trends — suggesting fresh cyclical positioning.
Equity ETFs took in $66.8B this week. Fixed Income added $9.8B. Commodities took in $855M — a sharp contrast to the 3m picture where commodities saw $31.0B in outflows. This week's commodity buying could be an early reversal.
Currencies saw $273M in net outflows for the week and $6.3B over three months. Dollar positioning is being trimmed.
Active ETFs pulled in $6.8B this week and $228.5B over three months. Active is eating into passive's share of flows. Vanilla/passive strategies still dominate in absolute terms at $47.8B this week, but Active's 3m momentum is striking — 54% of the equivalent Vanilla 3m flow, from a much smaller base.
ESG flipped. It bled $664M this week despite pulling in $8.6B over three months. That is a sharp one-week reversal.
Overall tone: strongly risk-on. Equities, cyclicals, and active strategies are all in demand. The week's broad buying across geographies and sectors leaves little doubt about where institutional money is heading.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
