Edited by Peter Hillerberg3 min readStories are generated from ORTEX data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. How we publish
Fixed income claimed the top spot this week. $30.6B flowed into bond ETFs over the past five days. Equities still attracted $21.6B, but the gap is telling. Over three months, equities led with $474.7B versus bonds at $287.6B. The one-week reversal marks a clear shift in tone.
The US remains the dominant destination. $15B net flowed into US-focused ETFs last week. That compares to $207.3B over the full three-month period, confirming steady institutional conviction in American markets.
Japan flipped sharply. It posted a $2.4B net outflow this week. Over three months it is barely negative at $1.4B. That makes Japan the most notable reversal, swinging from near-flat to meaningful selling pressure in the short term.
Taiwan and Global Ex-US buckets attracted strong flows. Taiwan pulled in $1.4B with a flow imbalance of 87.9, meaning buyers heavily outnumbered sellers. Global Ex-US recorded $1.5B in with an imbalance of 93.4. Both readings suggest deliberate rotation out of Japan and into broader international positions.
Singapore drew $104.8M this week with a near-perfect flow imbalance of 98.7. Over three months it has attracted $967.3M. Separate ORTEX alt data shows Chinese visitor arrivals to Singapore hit a record 435,442 in August 2026, up from the prior August peak of 403,138. The real-economy signal adds texture to the region's appeal.
Hong Kong was the sharpest outflow ex-Japan. It lost $977.6M this week, with a flow imbalance of just 17.1. Over three months it was comfortably positive at $5.3B, so this is a recent deterioration worth watching.
Tech is taking the hardest hit. Information Technology suffered a $3.1B net outflow this week. The flow imbalance sat at 36.9, well into selling territory. Yet over three months, tech still leads all sectors with $8.1B in net inflows. The weekly bleed is a crack in an otherwise strong trend.
Financials and Industrials also lost ground. Financials shed $2B and Industrials dropped $1.1B this week. Both carry flow imbalances below 30, indicating strong selling pressure. Over three months, Industrials were essentially flat and Financials were net negative at $2.5B. There is no three-month cushion here.
Utilities and Communication Services are the week's standouts on the buy side. Utilities attracted $641M with an imbalance of 76.5. Communication Services added $573M. Over three months, Utilities had accumulated $2.2B. The pattern points to a defensive rotation away from growth and cyclicals.
Bonds beat equities in flow imbalance this week. Fixed income scored 74.1. Equities came in at 56.4. The three-month picture showed both positive, but equities held a larger lead. The compression suggests investors are hedging rather than exiting.
Passive vanilla strategies kept the biggest pool of inflows at $19B this week. Active management added $1.5B. Over three months, active strategies accumulated $104.1B versus vanilla at $265.7B. That gap is narrowing in percentage terms. Fundamentals-based strategies also showed consistent demand across both periods.
ESG flipped negative this week at $596M outflow after $12.8B of inflows over three months. Momentum strategies continued bleeding, down $179M this week and $3.5B over three months. Dividend strategies held firm in both windows.
The overall tone is cautious. Bonds are outpacing equities in the short run, defensives are leading within equities, and Japan is being sold while Taiwan and Singapore attract fresh money.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
