The biggest story this week: US-listed equity ETFs pulled in a net $39.2B in seven days. That dwarfs every other geography. The flow imbalance hit 71.3 — well into strong buying territory. Over three months, US ETFs absorbed $391.7B net, remaining the clear destination of choice for institutional capital.
Japan was the second-largest geography winner this week, drawing $4.8B net. Emerging Markets followed with $1.5B, carrying a striking 82.8 flow imbalance. That signals near-unanimous buying pressure. Global Ex-US funds added $1.3B with an imbalance of 87.4 — very little pushback from sellers.
South Korea stands out as the week's worst regional loser, bleeding $1.1B net. Its flow imbalance dropped to 28.8. Over three months, South Korea was a major recipient of $38.3B. That reversal is sharp and worth watching. Hong Kong also flipped. It gained $282M this week, but lost $12.5B over three months — one of the largest regional drains in the longer window.
Financials took the hardest hit this week, with a $2.4B net outflow. Its flow imbalance of just 18.0 indicates heavy selling pressure. Over three months, Financials were actually a modest gainer at $4.0B. The week-on-week reversal is notable.
Energy flipped in the opposite direction. It shed $6.5B over three months. This week it attracted $277M in net inflows. That is a tentative reversal worth monitoring.
Information Technology stayed positive on both timeframes. It gained $358M this week and $58.5B over three months — by far the largest sector haul over the longer period. Health Care reversed over the week, with a $176M outflow, despite gaining $6.5B over three months.
Consumer Staples and Industrials both posted small but positive weekly flows. That hints at mild defensive-leaning rotation alongside the IT dominance.
All major asset classes attracted net capital this week. Equities led with $55.2B, followed by Fixed Income at $14.1B. Commodities added $5.1B — a solid week. Over three months, commodities told a different story: a $27.0B net outflow. That is a clear trend divergence. Commodity money is coming back in the short term, but the quarter-long picture remains negative.
Currency ETFs bucked the weekly trend. They gained $1.3B this week but lost $4.0B over three months.
On strategy, vanilla passive funds dominated with $40.1B this week. Active strategies pulled in $9.5B — a 23.8% share of flows relative to vanilla. Over three months, active funds raised $219.8B. That is 56% of vanilla's $391.3B, a disproportionately large share given that active ETF assets are far smaller. Price-weighted strategies shed $2.9B this week, reversing their positive three-month trend of $11.2B.
The overall tone is risk-on. Equities lead, passive dominates, EM buying pressure is high, and the US market remains the primary destination for fresh institutional capital.
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.
