US-focused ETFs pulled in $28.1B in net inflows last week. That was the single largest geographic flow by a wide margin. Over three months, the US has attracted $356B — the clear dominant destination for institutional money.
The biggest weekly surprise comes from Asia. Japan and China both shed money last week. Japan saw $6.4B in outflows (flow imbalance: 35.7). China lost $5.1B (imbalance: 27.5). That is a sharp reversal. Over three months, Japan attracted $72.1B and China $20.9B — both were strong performers. The one-week selling looks like profit-taking after a strong quarter.
Emerging Markets held firm. The bloc pulled in $1.8B last week with a strong 86.1 imbalance score. Global ex-US ETFs added $1.6B. Developed Europe took in $968M. These flows suggest investors are not abandoning international exposure — they are simply rotating out of Asia specifically.
South Korea fell $480M in the week. Over three months it was one of the standout gainers at $39.3B. Another sharp reversal worth watching.
Tech saw the biggest sector outflow last week: $2.0B out of Information Technology ETFs. That follows $57.3B of inflows over three months — the largest sector total by far. The weekly reversal suggests short-term profit-taking rather than a structural shift, but the imbalance score dropped to 41.6, signalling genuine selling pressure.
Financials lost $1.3B on the week. Consumer Staples shed $596M. Both show weak imbalance scores below 30 — clear selling dominance.
Health Care was the brightest spot. It gained $164M on the week with a balanced 55.1 imbalance. Over three months it added $7.2B. Communication Services added $157M. Energy added $86M despite three-month net outflows of $5.3B — a potential reversal signal.
Industrials lost $423M last week. That stands out because Industrials attracted $4.5B over three months. Worth monitoring.
Equities remain the dominant asset class. They pulled in $26.0B on the week and $710B over three months. Fixed Income is also seeing strong buying. It took in $14.7B last week with a 74.8 imbalance — very healthy buying pressure. Over three months, fixed income gathered $243.5B.
The key divergence: Commodities. They attracted $2.5B last week and look positive. But over three months they bled $30.4B. The one-week bounce may signal a floor, but the trend remains negative.
On strategy, Value ETFs posted a strong 87.5 imbalance score last week — the highest of any strategy group. Active strategies gathered $5.3B on the week with a 68.3 imbalance. Over three months, Active has been the standout at $216.8B in net flows. ESG saw a small $115M outflow last week, reversing its $14.4B three-month inflow trend.
Overall tone is cautiously risk-on. Equities and fixed income are both attracting money simultaneously. The Asia profit-taking and Tech rotation suggest some defensiveness at the margin — but the broad direction remains constructive.
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.
