Money Flows Into Tech and Asia, Active Beats Passive

Taiwan-linked ETFs are pulling in money at near-record pace. China and South Korea are close behind. The week's data shows investors chasing Asia's technology growth story, and the timing lines up with a striking data point: Taiwan's export orders hit $95.7B in September 2026, the highest reading since the series began in 1984, according to ORTEX Alt Data.

Geography Flows: Asia Dominates the Week

The US led all geographies in net inflows this week at $17.7B. China came second at $14.8B, with a flow imbalance of 77.8, pointing to strong buying pressure. South Korea attracted $7.3B with an imbalance of 89.2, the sharpest skew among large markets. Taiwan pulled in $3.6B with a near-perfect imbalance of 95.3.

Over three months, the picture is consistent. Taiwan has drawn $18.2B over the quarter. China brought in $27.5B. Both are clear beneficiaries of the AI and semiconductor trade. Japan is the one divergence: it attracted $4.5B this week but sits at a $7.0B net outflow over three months. The short-term bounce has not reversed the deeper trend.

India is struggling on both horizons. It posted a $41.6M outflow this week and a $1.2B outflow over three months. North America as a standalone regional basket saw $762M leave this week, the weakest reading in the geography table.

Sector Rotation: Tech Pulls Clear, Defensives Lose Ground

Information Technology took in $11.1B this week, more than any other sector. Energy added $632M and Health Care $454M. Every other sector bled. Financials lost $839M. Consumer Discretionary dropped $725M. Consumer Staples shed $625M. Industrials gave back $594M.

Over three months, IT still leads with $18.1B, but Financials was deeply negative at a $9.6B outflow. The three-month data also shows Utilities and Real Estate as quiet winners at $2.5B and $2.7B respectively. Both are reversing this week, which suggests some rotation out of defensive yield plays and back into growth.

Asset Class and Strategy: Active Funds Taking Share

Equities dominated this week at $57.3B in net inflows. Fixed Income added $15.7B. Commodities and Alternatives both saw outflows. Over three months, equities have attracted $545B versus $293B for fixed income. Both asset classes are firmly in inflow territory, signalling a broad risk-on posture rather than a flight to safety.

The most striking strategy shift is active versus passive. Active ETFs gathered $161B over three months, equal to 70% of the passive "vanilla" total. This week alone, active pulled in $2.2B with a 60 flow imbalance. Fundamental and value strategies also ran strong. Momentum strategies sit at a $3.4B three-month outflow, suggesting investors are no longer chasing what has already moved.

Growth edged out value this week ($2.0B versus $1.3B), but over three months value leads clearly. ESG flows stayed positive across both windows.

The overall tone is risk-on but selective. Investors are buying technology and Asia, they are adding bonds alongside equities, and they are shifting toward active management. Defensives and momentum are losing the argument.