Edited by Peter Hillerberg3 min readStories are generated from ORTEX data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. How we publish
Active ETFs pulled in $81B in a single week. That dwarfs every other strategy. Over three months, they attracted $176B with a flow imbalance of 74, indicating persistent buying pressure. The message is clear: investors are paying up for active management.
The US remained the dominant destination, taking in $86B net in the past week with a flow imbalance of 78. That is strong, but the three-month picture (flow imbalance of 57) tells a slightly more cautious story. Net flows were $274B over that stretch, but gross outflows of $888B reveal heavy churn beneath the surface.
Brazil was the week's standout among smaller markets. It pulled in $2.3B with a flow imbalance of 95, almost no selling pressure at all. Over three months it held steady with $2.4B in net inflows. Canada had a quieter week at $550M net, though ORTEX alt data shows Canadian employment hit a record 21.1 million in September, the highest September reading since 1976, suggesting the macro backdrop remains supportive.
Japan flipped to an outflow of $1.9B this week with a flow imbalance of just 33. Over three months it posted an $8B net outflow. The weakness is notable against a backdrop of strong industrial momentum: numerically controlled machine tool orders surged 63% year-on-year in August, according to ORTEX alt data, the sharpest reading in the dataset. Short-term positioning and strong real-economy signals are pointing in opposite directions for Japan.
The most striking story is the reversal in Technology. Over three months, IT saw a net outflow of $8.1B, the biggest sector drain in that window. This week, it drew $2.4B, the largest sector inflow. Whether that is a genuine rotation back or a tactical bounce remains to be seen, but the shift is sharp.
Financials went the other way. The sector bled $1.3B this week after losing $5B over three months. Flow imbalance sits at 34, signalling continued selling pressure.
Utilities attracted $446M this week and $2.7B over three months. That is a consistent, quiet bid. Health Care added $334M this week and $3B over three months. Both sectors have been steady destinations while cyclicals have faced rotation. Real Estate also added $3.4B over three months despite having been largely ignored in the broader equity rally narrative.
Equities took in $98B in the past week and $512B over three months. Fixed income added $20B this week and $294B over three months. That dual bid points to a broadly risk-on but hedged positioning. Investors are not abandoning bonds.
Commodities remain close to flat over one week at $170M net, though three-month flows were a solid $31B. Currency ETFs bled $485M this week but gained $8.7B over three months.
On strategy, the clearest divergence is in dividends. Over three months, dividend strategies attracted $12.5B. This week they lost $123M. That one-week dip may be noise, but it follows a pattern where investors use dividend ETFs as a parking spot and then rotate when risk appetite rises. Value strategies showed a similar pattern: $8.5B in over three months, but a $393M outflow this week.
Overall, the tone is risk-on. Equity inflows are dominant, active strategies are leading the charge, and the recent bid for defensive sectors such as Utilities and Real Estate sits alongside a tactical tech bounce.
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.
