Fixed income grabbed the week's biggest inflow. $11.0B flowed into bond ETFs in the past seven days. That stands in sharp contrast to the 3-month picture, where equities dominated with a $668B net inflow. The short-term data tells a different story — equity ETFs shed a net $2.8B this week alone, a notable reversal from the longer trend.
The US was the week's biggest loser by geography. American-focused ETFs bled $14.7B in net outflows over the past week. Flow imbalance sat at just 41.8, signalling clear selling pressure. That is a stark shift from the 3-month view, where US-focused funds attracted $264.5B — the single largest regional haul globally.
Money moved elsewhere this week. Japan pulled in $3.0B net, with a flow imbalance of 60.6. Global funds added $4.3B, the strongest non-US performer of the week. Developed Markets ex-US brought in $1.0B. China, after attracting $34.2B over three months, flipped to an outflow of $1.2B this week. South Korea and Taiwan also turned negative on the week, losing $624M and $420M respectively, despite both recording strong 3-month inflows.
The message is clear. Investors rotated out of US and Asia-Pacific single-country funds over the week while adding to broader international and developed-market exposure.
Industrials was the hardest-hit sector this week. It lost $762M net, with a flow imbalance of just 26.3 — strong selling pressure. Utilities dropped $177M. Energy shed $338M. All three were positive over three months, making the weekly reversal notable.
Financials topped the sector gainers with $761M in net inflows. Consumer Staples drew $237M and Real Estate added $239M. Those defensive and rate-sensitive names gaining ground while cyclicals sold off fits the broader shift toward bonds this week.
Tech remained flat by comparison. Information Technology posted only $142M in net inflows on the week despite massive gross flows of $5.7B in and $5.5B out, indicating high churn and two-way uncertainty. Over three months, Tech led all sectors with $38.7B.
Bonds ruled the asset class rankings this week with $11.0B in net inflows and a flow imbalance of 70.7. Commodities added $1.8B and Alternatives $1.6B. Currency ETFs drew $1.3B. Equities were the only major asset class in net outflow.
On strategy, Active ETFs were the clear winner. They pulled in $3.1B this week — consistent with the 3-month trend of $194.5B. Dividend strategies added $1.4B and ESG funds gained $1.2B. Exchange-specific and price-weighted strategies saw heavy outflows of $6.0B and $4.0B respectively.
Vanilla passive strategies bled $1.9B this week despite dominating the 3-month picture at $303.8B — the largest strategy inflow over that horizon.
The overall tone is risk-off. Investors pulled back from US equities, cyclical sectors, and passive index funds in favour of bonds, international exposure, and actively managed products.
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.
