Bonds Win the Week as US Equities Bleed

Fixed income claimed the top spot this week. Bond ETFs pulled in $15.8B net over seven days. Equities shed $6.6B over the same period. The contrast is sharp. Over three months, equities led with $690B in net inflows. The weekly picture is a meaningful reversal of that trend.

Geography Flows

US-focused ETFs posted the biggest outflow of any region: -$17.3B in net flows this week. The flow imbalance sat at just 41.8, signaling strong selling pressure. That is a notable shift. Over three months, US ETFs attracted $280B — the largest geographic inflow by far.

International exposure is picking up the slack. Global ETFs drew $4.7B net this week, with a flow imbalance of 71.4. Developed Markets and Emerging Markets ETFs also saw net buying, pulling in $1.8B and $1.3B respectively. Both carried high imbalance scores above 82.

Asia is mixed. Japan attracted $2.0B net this week. Over three months it sits at $105B — the second-largest geography by flow. South Korea and Taiwan both bled money this week (-$936M and -$839M). Over three months, both had been solidly positive. That is a clean reversal worth watching.

China drew $33.3B over three months. This week it lost $853M. The three-month buying wave appears to be stalling.

Sector Rotation

Financials led all sectors this week with $1.4B in net inflows. The imbalance score hit 77.2 — clear buying pressure. Over three months, Financials had only $4.1B in net inflows. The pace is accelerating.

Tech is the biggest story. Information Technology pulled in $41.3B over three months — by far the largest sector inflow. But this week it flipped to a $637M outflow, with an imbalance score of just 47.3. Money is walking away from last quarter's top trade.

Industrials also reversed. It attracted $2.8B over three months. This week it shed $597M, with imbalance dropping to 32.8.

Health Care held firm. It brought in $536M this week and $7.2B over three months. Consistent demand on both timeframes.

Asset Class and Strategy

Bonds dominate the weekly picture. Fixed Income's $15.8B net inflow dwarfs every other asset class. Commodities added $2.3B. Currencies and Alternatives also saw net buying. The message is defensive.

Asset Allocation ETFs attracted $3.0B this week, with an imbalance score of 93.9. Investors are moving into balanced, multi-asset vehicles.

On strategy, Active ETFs pulled in $3.7B this week. Over three months, they drew $201B — running at 76.7 imbalance. Active is consistently outpacing passive on buying pressure. Vanilla passive strategies bled $4.6B this week despite $314B in three-month inflows.

Dividend and Value strategies each attracted over $1.0B this week. ESG saw slight outflows of $39M, a reversal from $19.8B in three-month net buying.

The week points to a risk-off rotation: money leaving US equities and tech, moving into bonds, financials, and defensive strategies.