Japan was the biggest single story in ETF flows this week. It shed $75.5B in net outflows over the past week, a flow_imbalance of just 9.7. That is a dramatic reversal. Over three months, Japan had been a consistent winner, pulling in $78.9B net — one of the strongest geographic inflows globally.
That flip is the headline. Money that flowed into Japan for months is now exiting fast.
The U.S. held up well. It drew $41.3B in net inflows over the week, with a flow_imbalance of 67.4 — solidly in buying territory. Over three months, the U.S. remains the dominant destination at $354.2B net. The trend here is intact.
China took $5.4B in net outflows last week, with a flow_imbalance of just 27.7. Over three months it is still slightly positive at $21.3B net, but the weekly number signals pressure building. Hong Kong is worse — $703M out last week, and $10.6B out over three months.
Bright spots outside the U.S.: Emerging Markets attracted $2.1B last week with a strong flow_imbalance of 81.7. South Korea added $2.1B, and Global Ex-U.S. funds saw near-total buying pressure at 97.7 flow_imbalance.
Materials was the only sector with meaningful net inflows last week — $1.5B in, flow_imbalance of 75.6. Everything else either bled or barely held flat.
Financials dropped $864M net. Health Care lost $440M. Consumer Discretionary shed $394M with a weak flow_imbalance of 21.7.
Information Technology is a key reversal story. It led all sectors over three months with $65.7B in net inflows. Last week it flipped to -$572M net. The flow_imbalance fell to 47.7 — essentially balanced, but the directional shift is notable. Selling has stepped up sharply.
Energy and Real Estate each managed modest positive flows last week. Over three months, Energy is deeply negative at -$6.1B, while Real Estate has seen $5.4B in three-month inflows and held a slight positive last week.
Fixed income is the clearest beneficiary. It pulled in $15.9B net last week with a flow_imbalance of 71.0. Over three months, bonds have attracted $244.7B net. Equities were negative last week at -$32.9B net, despite being positive over three months at $719.2B.
Commodities flipped. They attracted $3.0B last week with a flow_imbalance of 65.3. Over three months they are down -$30.2B net. That is a sharp short-term reversal worth watching.
Active strategies are winning consistently. Last week they pulled $10.4B, flow_imbalance 85.4. Over three months: $217.2B net. Vanilla passive strategies were the biggest loser last week at -$56.0B net. Value ETFs drew $2.0B last week with a strong 86.1 imbalance — ahead of Growth, which was mildly negative.
The overall tone is cautiously defensive: bonds over equities, value over growth, and active over passive dominate the short-term picture.
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.
