Japan ETFs bled $75B in a single week. That dwarfs every other geographic move and marks a sharp break from the three-month trend. Over three months, Japan was a top inflow destination, pulling in a net $78B. The reversal is stark. Flow imbalance collapsed to just 9.7 out of 100 — deep selling pressure territory.
U.S.-focused ETFs held firm. They drew a net $41B in the week, with a flow imbalance of 67.4. That compares to $354B in net inflows over the full three-month period. Demand for U.S. equity exposure remains the dominant structural trend.
Outside the U.S. and Japan extremes, the picture is broadly constructive for international equity. Emerging Markets pulled in $2.1B on the week, with a flow imbalance of 81.7 — strong buying pressure. South Korea added $2.1B. Global Ex-U.S. funds attracted $1.9B with an imbalance of 97.7, meaning almost all flows were one-directional: in.
China remains a concern. It shed $5.4B this week, with a flow imbalance of just 27.7. Over three months, China still shows a positive net of $21B, but the weekly data suggests that momentum is fading fast.
Materials was the only sector with meaningful inflows this week, pulling in $1.7B. Every other major sector saw outflows. Information Technology led losses at -$1.2B, despite $8B in gross inflows. Financials lost $827M. Industrials shed $420M.
The contrast with the three-month picture is sharp. Tech has been the dominant sector over three months with $63B in net inflows. Health Care added $6.5B. But both are now showing net outflows on a weekly basis. Sector momentum has clearly stalled.
Real Estate was the only other sector in the green this week at +$185M, consistent with its three-month trend of $5.3B in net inflows — suggesting ongoing interest in rate-sensitive assets.
The asset class shift is the clearest risk-off signal of the week. Equities saw net outflows of $23.7B. Fixed Income pulled in $17.9B, with a flow imbalance of 70.0. Over three months, equities dominated with $711B in net inflows versus $242B for bonds. The weekly reversal is a notable divergence.
Commodities attracted $2.8B this week — a positive reading, though the three-month picture shows -$30B. That is a genuine trend shift worth watching.
On strategy, Active funds took in $11.5B this week with an imbalance of 80.8. Vanilla passive funds bled -$50.8B. Over three months, Active has also been strong with $211B in net inflows. Value strategies added $2.4B, beating Growth's modest $341M.
Overall, this week's flows point to a clear risk-off rotation. Money is moving from equities into bonds, from passive to active, and from high-momentum regions like Japan and Tech into defensive alternatives and fixed income.
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.
