Fixed income pulled in $16.3B over the past week. Equities bled $17B out. That gap tells the story of a market shifting defensively — even as the 3-month trend still shows strong risk appetite.
Global Ex-U.S. ETFs were the standout geography winner this week. They took in $8.6B net, with a flow imbalance of 98.1 — near-total buying pressure and almost no outflow. Switzerland ($520M) and Sweden ($226M) also attracted clean inflows with imbalances above 96.
The U.S. was the week's biggest loser by a wide margin. American equity ETFs shed $30.8B net. That is a stark contrast to the 3-month picture, where U.S. ETFs attracted $147.5B — the largest geographic flow of the quarter. A one-week reversal of this scale suggests tactical repositioning rather than a structural exodus.
China flipped direction too. Over 3 months, China pulled in $48.3B — third-largest globally. This week it lost $1.9B. India also bled, down $508M on the week with a flow imbalance of just 1.4 — near-complete selling pressure.
Every dollar counts here. Industrials posted the biggest weekly sector outflow at -$1.8B. Information Technology followed at -$1.7B. Financials shed -$1.1B. All three have flow imbalances below 46 — sellers dominating.
The rotation destination is clear: Real Estate gained $740M. Energy added $533M. Utilities took in $363M. These are the classic defensive plays. Over 3 months, Tech was the top sector at +$20.1B. That 3-month trend now faces its first meaningful weekly reversal.
Health Care flipped too. It collected $5.1B over 3 months. This week it lost $251M. The defensive switch is selective — real assets and yield-plays win, growth names do not.
Fixed Income absorbed $16.3B this week. That compares to $266B over the full 3-month period, putting this week at an elevated pace relative to the trend. Currency ETFs also attracted $2.2B — the highest flow imbalance of any asset class at 86.9.
Equities lost $17B on the week despite being the dominant 3-month vehicle at +$453B. Commodities edged into outflow at -$214M, reversing a $24.9B 3-month inflow trend.
On strategy, Vanilla ETFs led inflows at +$13.7B. Active strategies added $9.3B. The sharp reversal came from Momentum strategies, which shed -$11.4B this week — the steepest single-week strategy outflow. Over 3 months, Momentum was only -$2.3B, meaning this week saw near-total capitulation. Multi-factor and Fundamental strategies also posted heavy weekly outflows of -$8.2B and -$8.0B respectively, after both showed 3-month gains.
The overall tone is cautious rotation: out of U.S. growth and momentum, into bonds, defensive sectors, and international equity. Risk-off signals are building but have not yet broken the longer-term uptrend.
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.
