Fixed income is the standout story this week. $16.3B flowed into Fixed Income ETFs over the past seven days. Equity ETFs bled $17B in the same period. Over three months, both classes attracted money — equities pulled $452B, bonds $266B — but this week's flip is a clear signal. Risk appetite is cooling fast.
The US dominance of three-month flows is cracking. US-focused ETFs drew $147.5B over the past quarter. This week, they posted a $30.8B net outflow — the largest negative geography flow by a wide margin. The flow imbalance reading of 43.9 confirms sellers are firmly in control.
The beneficiaries are clear. Global Ex-US ETFs attracted $8.6B this week, with a near-perfect flow imbalance of 98.1. That means almost every dollar moving is an inflow. Global broad ETFs added $5.4B. Canada pulled in $2.1B.
China reversed sharply. Over three months, China ETFs gained $48.3B — the third-largest geography inflow globally. This week, they shed $1.9B. India followed the same pattern: a $633M outflow over three months, deepening to another $508M drain this week.
Switzerland stood out on the upside. $520M flowed in over the week, with a 96% flow imbalance. Small market, concentrated conviction.
The sector picture shows a decisive shift away from cyclicals. Industrials posted the biggest sector outflow this week at $1.8B. Information Technology shed $1.7B. Financials lost $1.1B. All three were net receivers of money over the prior quarter.
Defensive sectors took the inflows. Real Estate led with $740M. Energy attracted $533M. Utilities added $363M. Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary also posted small positive flows.
This is a textbook rotation from growth and cyclicals into rate-sensitive and defensive plays. Over three months, Tech was the top sector with $20B in inflows. That trend is now reversing at the weekly level.
Currency ETFs attracted $2.2B this week with a flow imbalance of 86.9. That is a strong signal of hedging demand. Alternatives were roughly balanced at $403M net inflow.
On strategy, the divergence is sharp. Momentum ETFs suffered a massive $11.4B outflow this week, with a flow imbalance of just 1.4. Over three months, Momentum was only a mild $2.3B net drain — so this week's move is a major acceleration. Multi-factor and Fundamental strategies also posted heavy outflows of $8.2B and $8B respectively.
Active ETFs held up well with $9.3B in weekly inflows, consistent with the three-month trend of $120.7B. Vanilla passive strategies also remained net positive at $13.7B. Dividend ETFs flipped slightly negative this week despite strong three-month inflows of $13.2B.
The overall tone is defensive. Money is leaving US equities, momentum strategies, and cyclical sectors. It is moving into bonds, international diversification, and rate-sensitive assets. That points to a risk-off tilt as the quarter closes.
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.
