Active Funds Beat Passive as Tech Selling Accelerates

Fixed income pulled in $12.4B last week — the biggest single-week haul across all asset classes. That number tells the key story. Investors rotated away from passive equity into bonds, commodities, and actively managed funds at a pace that contrasts sharply with the 3-month trend.

Geography Flows — East Up, West Out

Japan and Hong Kong dominated regional inflows last week. Japan drew $4.1B with a flow imbalance of 73. Hong Kong added $3.5B with an even stronger imbalance of 82. Both signal strong buying pressure.

The US told a different story. American equity ETFs shed a net $6.4B over the week. That is a meaningful reversal. Over three months, the US attracted $287B — the largest regional total by far. The weekly outflow suggests short-term profit-taking or defensive repositioning.

China also flipped negative. It lost $3.1B last week despite pulling in $34.9B over the past three months. South Korea dropped $1.4B this week after gaining $40.7B over 3 months. Both reversals hint at emerging-market caution in the near term.

Emerging Markets as a category bucked that trend. The broad EM basket added $1.5B with a flow imbalance of 92 — nearly all buyers, almost no sellers.

Sector Rotation — Tech Takes the Hit

Information Technology bled $3.1B last week. That is the worst weekly outflow of any sector. The 3-month picture is the opposite: Tech attracted $45.6B — more than six times the next-best sector over that window.

The weekly Tech selloff looks like trimming after a strong run, not a structural exit.

Energy flipped to an inflow of $715M this week. Over 3 months, it lost $4.2B. That is a notable reversal. Investors appear to be buying into Energy weakness after a prolonged period of outflows.

Materials and Industrials both bled last week — down $866M and $777M respectively. Both had positive 3-month flows. That confirms near-term sector rotation away from cyclicals.

Health Care gathered $280M this week and $6.9B over 3 months. Utilities and Consumer Staples each added over $100M. Defensive sectors are quietly attracting capital.

Asset Class & Strategy — Active Surges, Passive Stumbles

Active ETFs gathered $6.1B last week. Vanilla (passive) strategies lost $7.3B. That gap is significant. Over 3 months, Active funds pulled in $202B — a sustained trend, not a blip.

Commodities added $4.6B last week with a flow imbalance of 77. Gold, oil, or both are likely drawing interest as equity uncertainty grows.

Dividend ETFs added $1.1B weekly and $13.1B over 3 months. Fundamental strategies brought in $1.6B this week. Both indicate a preference for quality and income over pure growth exposure.

The overall tone is cautious. Bonds lead, active beats passive, and investors are trimming last quarter's winners — US equities and Tech — while rotating into Energy, defensives, and real assets.