Edited by Peter Hillerberg3 min readStories are generated from ORTEX data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. How we publish
Japan pulled in a net $13.5B in a single week. That is the standout number in global ETF flows right now. With a flow imbalance of 89.3 out of 100, buying pressure is near-total. Over three months, Japan had been bleeding assets, posting a $9.9B net outflow. The reversal is sharp and clean.
The U.S. remains the largest destination by absolute size, drawing $15.8B in net inflows over the past week. But the story is the breadth of Asian buying. China added $7.2B on the week, South Korea $6.2B and Taiwan $2.0B. Brazil also stood out with $2.0B in net inflows and a flow imbalance of 95.8, meaning almost all activity was buyers.
Europe told the opposite story. Developed Europe saw a $403M net outflow, with imbalance falling to 43.3. The Netherlands shed $214M and Israel $178M. Over three months, Europe had been recovering, with Developed Europe posting $8.5B in cumulative net inflows. That trend appears to be stalling.
India is worth watching. It posted a $78M outflow this week, with a flow imbalance of just 11.6. Over three months, it recorded a $1.2B outflow. Investors are pulling back from India while rotating toward Northeast Asia.
The sharpest reversal in the data is in Information Technology. Over three months, IT was the worst-performing sector for flows, losing $6.3B. This week it topped the sector table with $3.6B in net inflows and a flow imbalance of 61.1. Sellers are retreating.
Industrials went the other way. It was roughly flat over three months but saw a $1.96B outflow this week, the worst of any sector. Flow imbalance fell to 19.1. That is a sudden and meaningful reversal.
Health Care continued to attract money. It pulled in $895M this week and $3.3B over three months, one of the few sectors with consistent buying pressure across both windows. Energy was also positive both this week ($777M) and over three months ($766M).
Financials is another reversal story. It was the second-worst sector over three months, losing $5.2B. This week it posted a slim $81M gain. The bleeding has stopped, but buyers have not yet committed.
Both equities and fixed income attracted money this week. Equities led with $48.3B in net inflows. Fixed income added $18.7B with a flow imbalance of 71.9. Investors are not choosing between the two. Commodities shed $454M this week, though over three months they had accumulated $30.6B. The weekly dip looks like a pause rather than a reversal.
In strategy flows, the biggest single-week winner was Fundamental strategies, which drew $14.9B at a flow imbalance of 97.5. Nearly all activity was buying. Over three months, Active strategies have dominated, pulling in $169.9B. This week they added a further $2.4B. Vanilla passive remains the largest bucket by total flow, but Active continues to take share.
ESG flipped from a weekly loser to a three-month contributor. It lost $339M this week but accumulated $9.1B over three months. Dividend strategies similarly lost ground this week, down $11M, but gained $11.9B over the quarter. Both look like consolidation rather than exit.
The overall tone is moderately risk-on. Equities and bonds are rising together, Asia is attracting fresh capital, and the IT selloff appears to have run its course for now.
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.
