Edited by Peter Hillerberg3 min readStories are generated from ORTEX data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. How we publish
The dominant story this week is a sharp pivot into actively managed ETFs. Active strategies pulled in $76.8B in net flows over the past week. That dwarfs vanilla passive products, which added just $6.0B. Over the three-month window, vanilla still leads in absolute terms at $242.8B. But active has closed the gap fast, taking $177.0B over the same period with a flow imbalance of 74. The direction of travel is clear: institutional allocators are betting on manager discretion over index tracking.
The US dominates at $77.3B in net inflows this week. Its flow imbalance reading of 70 signals genuine buying pressure, not just recycled assets. Brazil emerged as a surprise standout, drawing $1.2B with a near-maximum imbalance of 94. That follows a softer three-month trend for the country, suggesting fresh money is just beginning to rotate in.
Japan is the sharpest reversal. It bled $2.8B over the past week. That contrasts with the three-month picture, where Japan was roughly flat. The recent deterioration in sentiment is notable given that ORTEX Alt Data shows foreign machine tool orders from Japan hit JPY 146,350M in August, up 66% year-on-year. Capital spending data remains strong, yet ETF money is moving the other way.
Singapore is a quiet outperformer. It posted a flow imbalance of 99 this week on $197M of net inflows. ORTEX Alt Data records China visitor arrivals to Singapore at 435,442 in August, the highest since the series began in 2008. That real-economy traffic is feeding through into investor attention on the region.
India continues to struggle. Outflows hit $67M this week. The three-month trend is also negative at minus $885M. ORTEX Alt Data notes that visitor arrivals from India to Singapore have fallen for three consecutive months, another signal of softening momentum in the region.
Financials took the hardest hit of any sector this week, losing $3.4B with a flow imbalance of just 12. Technology dropped $2.7B. Both have now been in net outflow for three months, with Financials down $4.6B and Tech down $2.2B over that window.
The rotation is landing in Industrials and Utilities. Industrials gained $1.3B this week. Utilities added $887M, with a flow imbalance of 80, indicating sustained buying pressure. Over three months, Utilities has collected $2.5B. Health Care reversed sharply: down $350M this week but up $3.2B over three months. That three-month trend may now be stalling.
Equities led all asset classes with $83.3B in weekly net inflows. Fixed Income added $33.6B at a flow imbalance of 77. That combination, strong flows into both equities and bonds, suggests broad risk appetite rather than a defensive rotation.
Over three months, equities total $518.7B and fixed income $297.4B. Commodities attracted $1.5B this week, consistent with a six-week trend of measured buying.
On strategy, Growth took in $1.6B this week versus $183M for Value. Over three months the gap narrows: Growth at $10.1B, Value at $8.4B. ESG reversed three-month inflows of $13.1B with a weekly outflow of $303M, its imbalance dropping to 45. That short-term softness is worth watching.
The overall tone is risk-on. Equities, active management, Industrials, and Utilities are all drawing fresh capital. The exits from Tech and Financials, alongside Japan's weekly reversal, add selective caution to what is otherwise a broadly constructive week for flows.
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.
