US Equities Hit, Bonds and Active Funds Win

The biggest story this week: US equity ETFs saw a net outflow of $55B in the past seven days. That reverses a strongly positive three-month trend, where US-focused funds pulled in $199B net. The shift is sharp and hard to ignore.

Geography Flows

Global Ex-US ETFs attracted $4.9B in net inflows this week. Flow imbalance hit 96.6 — near-total buying pressure. Japan added $2.2B, with an imbalance of 86.6, keeping up its solid three-month momentum of $20B net. These trends are consistent.

China tells a different story. Over three months, China ETFs drew $46B net — one of the strongest regional performers. This week, however, outflows hit $3.2B, with imbalance dropping to 38.9. That is a notable short-term reversal from a powerful trend.

South Korea also flipped negative this week, with $2.2B in outflows. Over three months, it was a top performer at $22B net inflows. Developed Europe shed $1.2B on the week, in contrast to its $8.5B three-month gain. India, too, is bleeding — down $453M this week and negative over three months.

Sector Rotation

Financials were the biggest loser this week, shedding $2.6B net. Over three months they were positive at $1.2B. That is a clear reversal. Information Technology also saw $826M in outflows this week, despite leading all sectors over three months with $34.4B in net inflows.

Health Care dropped $630M this week, reversing a $5.9B three-month gain. Energy lost $275M on the week and is negative over both periods. Consumer Staples bled $326M this week after modest three-month inflows.

The winners this week were Communication Services ($338M), Real Estate ($305M), and Consumer Discretionary ($191M). All three were also positive over three months, suggesting consistent demand for rate-sensitive and consumer-facing names.

Asset Class and Strategy

Fixed Income was the standout winner this week. It pulled in $14.3B net, with a flow imbalance of 65.3. Over three months, fixed income attracted $267B — second only to equities. Money is clearly moving toward bonds. Commodities added $1.6B this week and $22.8B over three months, showing consistent demand.

Equities as an asset class had a brutal week. Net outflows reached $48.4B, with imbalance falling to 42.3. Three-month flows were strongly positive at $506B, making this week's print a jarring contrast.

On strategy, active funds stood out. They attracted $7.5B this week and $126B over three months — the second-largest strategy by net inflows. Momentum ETFs were crushed, losing $10.4B this week, versus only a $818M three-month loss. Growth and Value strategies both bled heavily in the past week despite positive three-month records.

Overall, the tone shifted decisively risk-off this week — money is rotating from equities, growth, and momentum into bonds, active management, and select defensive corners of the market.