Global ETF flows show a clear split this week. Institutional money is chasing the US and Japan. It is pulling hard out of China, Financials, and Tech.
The US led all regions with $15.7B in net inflows over the past week. Flow imbalance sits at 60.8, firmly in buying territory. Japan was the second-largest destination, pulling in $8.4B. Its flow imbalance reached 81.9 — one of the strongest buying signals in the entire dataset.
China told the opposite story. It bled $4.6B in net outflows this week. Its flow imbalance dropped to 28.7, signalling clear selling pressure. Hong Kong lost a further $970M. Taiwan shed $764M.
The 3-month picture makes China's weekly reversal striking. Over 90 days, China attracted $31.9B in net inflows. This week's $4.6B outflow suggests a meaningful short-term shift in sentiment. Japan's strong 3m trend ($101B net) is continuing — it shows no sign of reversal.
Developed Markets ex-North America and Emerging Markets both posted solid 1w inflows, with flow imbalances above 90 and 90 respectively. Broad demand for international exposure remains intact.
Financials suffered the biggest sector outflow this week at $1.2B net. Its flow imbalance hit just 28.4. Information Technology bled $867M, despite $5B in gross inflows. Selling outweighed buying. Materials and Industrials each lost over $660M.
This is a sharp reversal. Over 3 months, Tech was the single biggest sector winner by far — attracting $52B in net inflows. Financials pulled in $3.8B over 90 days. The weekly data shows rotation away from the 3m leaders.
Energy and Consumer Discretionary were the week's winners. Energy gained $846M with a flow imbalance of 72.2. Consumer Discretionary added $651M. Health Care attracted $571M.
Energy's 3m trend was actually negative at -$5B, making this week's inflow a genuine trend break. Money is rotating into Energy after months of selling.
Equities dominated all asset classes with $27.9B in weekly net inflows. Fixed Income added $7.7B. Commodities attracted $4.2B — notable given a negative 3m trend of -$5.5B. Investors are moving into commodities now after avoiding them for most of the quarter.
On strategy, Vanilla passive ETFs led with $13.7B. Active funds added $5.1B. Active's 3m trend of $204.7B net is the strongest of any strategy — the shift toward active management is a durable theme, not a one-week move. Fundamental strategies posted a flow imbalance of 90.0 this week, the highest of any strategy.
Price-weighted funds lost $1.95B this week, despite being positive over 3 months. Low Volatility strategies also saw modest outflows, consistent with a risk-on tone across markets.
Overall, the week's data points to a risk-on environment. Investors are chasing equities, rotating into Energy, and favouring Japan — while trimming Tech and China exposure built up over the prior quarter.
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.
