Asia Leads the Money Charge

Taiwan's export orders hit a record $95.7B in September 2026, the highest since the series began in 1984. ETF flow data tells a similar story. This week, money moved decisively toward Asian tech and away from defensive Western sectors.

Geography Flows: Asia Dominates

The US pulled in $17.7B in net inflows last week. That is the biggest absolute number, but the real story sits further east.

China attracted $14.8B with a flow imbalance of 77.8, a strong buying signal. South Korea drew $7.3B, with an imbalance reading of 89.2, close to one-directional buying. Taiwan brought in $3.6B at an imbalance of 95.3, the highest of any major geography. Almost every dollar going into Taiwan ETFs was a buy.

Over three months, these trends hold. Taiwan has gathered $18.2B over that period. China pulled in $27.5B across three months, though the weekly pace is now running well ahead of the three-month average rate, suggesting acceleration.

Japan is the sharp reversal. It drew $4.5B this week. Over three months, Japan showed a net outflow of $7.0B. Investors who were reducing Japan exposure are now adding it back. North America ex-US posted a net outflow of $763M this week against a $2.8B inflow over three months, a mild pause in an otherwise positive trend.

India reversed course. It had a $41M net outflow this week against a $1.2B outflow over three months. The selling in India-focused ETFs has been consistent and broad-based.

The Taiwan flow aligns directly with ORTEX Alt Data. Taiwan export orders by product group reached $95.7B in September 2026, a record since 1984. Total orders in New Taiwan dollars hit NT$3,622B, up from NT$2,138B a year earlier. That kind of order book growth gives ETF buyers a concrete reason to hold the position.

Sector Rotation: Tech Stays King

Information Technology collected $11.1B in net inflows over the past week. It is the only sector to register a clearly positive flow imbalance at 73.1. Over three months, IT's net inflow was $18.1B, so the weekly pace is running hot relative to the quarter average.

Financials bled $839M this week. Over three months, Financials lost $9.6B, the worst of any sector by a wide margin. The selling pressure is not new, but it has not stopped.

Consumer Discretionary shed $725M this week and $99M over three months. That three-month figure masks a recent deterioration. The one-week outflow is meaningfully larger than the rolling quarterly pace.

Industrials lost $594M this week. The three-month figure is also negative at $1.1B. Industrials has been a consistent drain on sector ETF money for the full period.

Healthcare and Energy are the secondary gainers. Healthcare brought in $454M this week and $4.0B over three months, a steady accumulation. Energy drew $633M weekly against $2.3B over three months. Both are consistent, if smaller, winning sectors.

Utilities and Real Estate are this week's worst defensive sectors. Utilities lost $457M over seven days despite a $2.5B three-month net inflow. That is a meaningful short-term reversal in a sector that had been attracting defensive money through the summer.

Asset Class and Strategy: Equities and Bonds Both Win

Equities drew $57.3B in net inflows last week. Fixed income added $15.7B. Both showing strong simultaneous inflows points to risk-on positioning funded by rotation out of alternatives and commodities. Alternatives shed $1.3B this week against a $9.9B three-month inflow. Commodities dropped $526M this week after a $34.3B three-month gain. Both represent profit-taking from recent winners.

On strategy, Vanilla passive funds pulled in $38.1B in a single week. Active strategies added $2.2B. Growth-style funds gathered $2.0B. Value added $1.3B. Both growing together is consistent with a broad equity rally rather than a defensive tilt. Over three months, Active strategies pulled in $161.3B, dramatically outpacing all other strategy types. That trend held this week, though Vanilla's one-week number was proportionally larger.

ESG gathered $699M weekly and $9.6B over three months. The strategy is still attracting steady inflows, with no sign of the reversal that momentum strategies have experienced. Momentum funds lost $90M this week and $3.4B over three months. That is a consistent and accelerating outflow.

The overall tone is clearly risk-on. Investors are buying equities and bonds together, favouring Asian tech, and stepping away from defensives, commodities and momentum strategies.