US and Japan Hoover Up Global ETF Cash

Equity ETFs pulled in $75B net in the past week alone. That dwarfs every other asset class combined. The risk-on tone is clear and broad.

Geography Flows

The US leads all regions by a wide margin. US-focused ETFs took in $40B net this week, with a flow imbalance of 71.7 — strong buying pressure. Japan came second at $14B net, and its imbalance of 82.2 signals even more one-sided buying. China pulled in $9.2B this week, a notable spike. Over three months, however, China's net is just $10.4B on massive two-way gross flows of $170B in and $159B out. That imbalance sits at only 51.6 over 3m — barely positive. The weekly China surge looks more tactical than structural.

Hong Kong tells the opposite story. It bled $1.5B this week and $9.3B over three months. Its 3m flow imbalance is just 38.2 — consistent selling pressure. India also reversed sharply, posting a $495M outflow this week after modest positive 3m flows. Taiwan remains a bright spot at $2.7B in this week and $22B over three months, driven by the semiconductor thematic.

Europe is mixed. Developed Europe ETFs are barely positive over one week ($164M) and negative over three months (-$2.5B), with a 3m imbalance of 47.2. Germany specifically bled $114M this week and $918M over three months.

Sector Rotation

Technology dominates. IT ETFs absorbed $6.2B net this week — the biggest single-sector haul. Over three months, IT has pulled in $70.4B. That 3m number is more than ten times the next-best sector. Consumer Staples saw a notable weekly jump to $795M, suggesting some defensive hedging alongside the growth trade. Financials added $1.98B this week.

Energy is the standout loser. It shed $748M this week and $4.9B over three months. That is the only major sector with consistent outflows across both timeframes. Consumer Discretionary has also turned negative over 3m (-$1.1B), a reversal from what looked like a recovery trade earlier in the year.

Asset Class and Strategy

Equity towers over everything at $75B net inflows this week. Fixed Income added $9.9B — healthy but a distant second. Commodities attracted $848M weekly, but that masks a brutal 3m picture: -$31B net over three months. Investors are not building commodity exposure. Currencies posted outflows in both periods.

On strategy, the most striking shift is in active management. Active ETFs drew $7.7B this week and $230B over three months — that is 52.8% of the entire vanilla passive flow in relative terms. The 3m active imbalance sits at 76.8, far above vanilla's 58.1. ESG, by contrast, shed $189M this week despite positive 3m flows of $8.8B. That weekly reversal is worth watching. Value strategies are negative over 3m (-$2.1B) while Growth stays strongly positive at $9.8B.

The overall picture is unambiguously risk-on: equities in, commodities out, active over passive, and growth over value.