US equity ETFs bled $8.8B last week. That is the headline number. But look past the home market, and the picture shifts sharply toward international exposure and active management.
Japan is the standout winner of the week. ETFs targeting Japanese equities pulled in $7.9B over seven days. Flow imbalance sat at 69.6 — firmly in buying territory. Global broad-market funds added $6.4B, and Developed Markets Ex-US attracted $2.1B. Emerging Markets followed with $1.8B in net inflows.
The contrast with the three-month trend is striking. Over 90 days, the US dominated with $328B in net inflows — dwarfing every other region. Japan ranked third over 3m at $60.8B, behind only the US and Global funds. South Korea and China also posted strong 3m inflows of $41.1B and $36.1B respectively. Yet both reversed this week, with China flat and South Korea shedding $465M net. Taiwan also flipped negative on the week after $24.2B in 3m inflows. That reversal across Asia ex-Japan is a notable shift worth watching.
The UK posted a flow imbalance of just 19.5 this week — strong selling pressure — with $237M in net outflows.
Technology took the hardest hit. Information Technology ETFs shed $3.7B last week. That is the biggest single-sector outflow. Financials lost $1.7B. Energy, Industrials, and Communication Services all posted outflows too. Over three months, IT was the dominant recipient with $52.9B in net inflows. This week's reversal is sharp.
The flows are rotating into defensive corners. Real Estate picked up $264M. Health Care added $259M. Utilities gained $200M. Materials brought in $143M. These sectors were modest contributors over 3m as well, suggesting a mild defensive tilt rather than a full rotation.
Over 90 days, Health Care was the second-largest sector recipient at $7B. Energy was the only large sector to bleed significantly over 3m, losing $5.7B.
Every major asset class posted net inflows this week. Equities led with $15.5B. Fixed income added $9.5B — a substantial number that signals a bond bid alongside the equity flow. Commodities brought in $4.9B. That is a reversal from the 3m picture, where commodities were the only asset class in outflow at -$8.7B over the full period.
Active management is the strategy story of the week. Active ETFs drew $6.3B — the highest net flow of any strategy group. Flow imbalance hit 69.3, well into buying territory. Over 3m, active funds have absorbed $206.6B, placing them second only to vanilla passive at $332.3B. The active-vs-passive gap is narrowing noticeably.
Value and Fundamental strategies both attracted capital this week. Equal-weight ETFs pulled in $2.5B. ESG funds gained $1.6B.
The weekly picture points to a risk-rebalancing tone — selling US tech and large-cap leaders, buying bonds, commodities, and international markets, with active managers capturing the rotation trade.
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.
