Japan ETFs suffered the single biggest weekly outflow of any geography — $75B left the market in seven days, with a flow imbalance of just 9.7 out of 100. That is an extreme selling signal. The contrast with the 3-month picture is stark. Over 90 days, Japan attracted $78B in net inflows. The reversal this week is the most significant trend shift in the data.
US-focused ETFs held up better. They drew $41B in net inflows this week. Flow imbalance sits at 67.4, firmly in buying territory. Over three months, the US remains the dominant destination with $354B in cumulative net inflows — well ahead of every other region.
Outside the US, money is moving into broad international baskets. Global Ex-US ETFs posted a flow imbalance of 97.7 this week — nearly all flows were one-directional buying. Emerging Markets pulled in $2.1B over seven days with an imbalance of 81.7. China, however, continued bleeding. It shed $5.4B this week after running positive over 90 days ($21B). That 3m-to-1w reversal in China is the second-biggest geographic trend shift in the data.
Materials was the only major sector to attract meaningful net buying this week at $1.75B in. Every other large sector posted outflows. Information Technology led the selling at $1.2B out, despite being the top 3-month sector by a wide margin ($63B in over 90 days). Financials lost $827M this week. Health Care dropped $340M. Industrials, which had drawn $4.4B over three months, reversed to a $420M outflow.
Real Estate and Consumer Staples bucked the trend. Real Estate posted $185M in net inflows this week with a 60.2 flow imbalance. Consumer Staples added $72M. Both are traditionally defensive plays. That shift toward defensives alongside a Tech selloff is a clear rotation signal.
Fixed Income was the standout winner this week. Bonds absorbed $17.9B in net inflows. The flow imbalance of 70.0 points to sustained buying pressure. Equities, by contrast, shed $23.7B in net flows — the worst of any asset class — with an imbalance of just 45.6. Over three months, equities still dominate with $711B in cumulative net inflows. But the weekly reversal is sharp.
Commodities attracted $2.8B this week. That compares to a $30B outflow over three months. Another notable reversal.
On strategy, Active ETFs are gaining fast. They drew $11.5B this week, with an 80.8 flow imbalance. Vanilla passive funds bled $50.8B. Value strategies attracted $2.4B this week. Over 90 days, Value had barely broken even at $500M. Dividend ETFs are also gaining, pulling $538M this week with steady buying imbalance of 65.3.
The overall tone this week is risk-off — money is rotating from equities and passive growth into bonds, active strategies, value, and defensive sectors.
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.
