The standout story this week is Japan. ETFs focused on Japanese equities shed $11.6B in net outflows over the past seven days. That is the sharpest single-region bleeding in the data, with a flow imbalance of just 11.4. Over three months, Japan was near-flat at -$4.0B, making this week's move a sharp acceleration. Money is leaving fast and it is not coming back the same way.
The US remains the dominant destination. It pulled in $29.9B net this week and $224.6B over three months. The flow imbalance of 64.9 on a one-week basis points to buying pressure holding firm.
Global Ex-US ETFs were the cleanest trade of the week. Net inflows of $6.5B came with a flow imbalance of 98.5, meaning almost every dollar flowing was going in rather than out. Over three months, the same category attracted $29.9B, confirming a durable trend toward international diversification.
Taiwan drew $358.9M net this week. Over three months, that rises to $15.1B. Taiwan's August export orders hit a record $103.0B, according to ORTEX Alt Data, nearly double the previous August peak. That fundamental backdrop is keeping ETF money pointed at the island.
Canada attracted $1.9B this week and $9.2B over three months. Canada's August CPI reached an all-time high for that month, per ORTEX Alt Data, which may be pushing fixed income and inflation-linked allocations into Canadian-focused funds.
India reversed. It posted -$108M this week after recording -$747M over three months. Selling pressure has been consistent, with flow imbalance sitting at just 11.0 this week.
Technology is the biggest loser in sectors this week. Information Technology ETFs bled -$3.5B in net flows, the worst of any sector, with a flow imbalance of 32.9. The three-month picture looks starkly different. IT pulled in $13.3B over that period. This week's reversal is the kind of divergence that matters.
Financials took the top spot for sector inflows this week at $1.0B, with a flow imbalance of 67.0. Energy followed at $744M. Consumer Discretionary attracted $718M with a strong flow imbalance of 86.2. Real Estate and Utilities also posted solid inflows.
Health Care and Industrials both shed money this week. Health Care had -$410M in outflows. Industrials posted -$401M. Over three months, both sectors were in positive territory, so the weekly reversal stands out.
Equities led all asset classes with $32.3B in net inflows this week. Fixed Income added $21.4B. Both trends align with the three-month picture, where equities drew $505.6B and fixed income $276.3B. Alternatives lost -$2.97B this week despite being positive over three months. That shift suggests some deleveraging at the margin.
Vanilla passive funds remain the dominant strategy, pulling $34.8B this week and $282.6B over three months. Active ETFs attracted $4.1B this week and $108.1B over three months. The active share is growing. Momentum strategies were notably weak in both windows: -$932M this week, -$3.6B over three months.
Dividend strategies held up well at $533M this week, consistent with the three-month pattern of $13.2B. With fixed income also in strong positive territory, the overall risk tone leans cautious and income-oriented, with selective risk-on moves in US equities and specific international names like Taiwan.
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.
