The dominant story in ETF flows this week is simple: money is leaving technology and parking in almost everything else. US-listed ETFs absorbed a net $39.0B over the past week. That is the single largest geographic inflow by a wide margin. The flow imbalance reading of 65.7 confirms buying pressure is real, not just gross volume.
The striking divergence from the three-month picture is in Japan. Over three months, Japan was essentially flat with a net outflow of just $4.0B on nearly $183B of gross flows, a sign of balanced positioning. This week it collapsed to a net outflow of $8.9B with a flow imbalance of just 29.2, signalling sharp selling pressure. Japan-focused ETFs saw $15.1B leave in a single week.
Taiwan stands out on the inflows side with a $837M net gain this week and a flow imbalance of 73.0. That fits with macro data from ORTEX Alt Data showing Taiwan's total export orders hit $103.0B in August 2026, the largest August on record since 1984 and up 71% from the previous year's August best. The three-month picture for Taiwan is equally strong at $15.1B net, suggesting the inflow is a sustained trend rather than a one-week event.
Canada also drew $2.3B in net inflows this week, with a flow imbalance of 91.5. Three-month net flows into Canada stand at $9.2B. Emerging markets, by contrast, saw $449M in net outflows this week after pulling in $21.5B over three months. That reversal is worth watching.
Technology is the week's biggest loser. Information Technology ETFs bled $3.5B in net outflows, with a flow imbalance of just 32.9. Over three months the sector had attracted $13.3B in net inflows. That is a sharp reversal. Industrials also flipped: a $1.4B net gain over three months became a $401M net outflow this week.
The money rotated into Financials ($1.0B net), Energy ($744M), Consumer Discretionary ($718M), Real Estate ($479M), and Utilities ($448M). Energy's three-month net was only $394M, so this week's $744M represents a meaningful acceleration. Utilities saw similar momentum, with the weekly figure running well ahead of the quarterly pace.
Both equities and fixed income are attracting capital. Equity ETFs took in $32.3B net this week. Fixed income pulled in $21.4B, with a flow imbalance of 70.9. That combination suggests investors are not choosing one over the other. They are adding to both while cutting alternatives, which saw $3.0B in net outflows this week despite positive three-month flows of $5.0B.
On strategy, vanilla passive funds dominated with $34.8B in net inflows. Active strategies added $4.1B. Price-weighted ETFs lost $10.3B in a single week, a dramatic acceleration of the three-month outflow trend of $16.4B. Momentum strategies also continued to bleed, losing $932M this week. Dividend and fundamental strategies attracted modest but consistent inflows across both time frames.
The overall tone is cautiously risk-on. Investors are buying equities and bonds together, rotating out of tech and Japan, and gravitating toward energy, financials, and income-oriented strategies.
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.
