US equities dominated ETF flows this week. A net $412B poured into US-focused funds in just five days. The flow imbalance hit 91.5 — deep buying territory. That dwarfs the three-month pace, where the same figure stood at $560B spread over 13 weeks.
Japan was the only other geography that mattered. It pulled in $33.6B on a 1-week basis, with a flow imbalance of 92.5. Over three months, Japan has absorbed $281.8B — the strongest non-US momentum globally. China, by contrast, bled $7.3B last week. The selling pressure echoes its 3-month trend: $50B in net outflows over 90 days. Developed Europe also flipped negative this week, shedding $744M after modest positive flows over the broader quarter.
Information Technology dominated sector flows by a wide margin. IT pulled in $104.2B last week alone, with a flow imbalance of 91.9. Over three months, it also leads at $98.8B — a consistent trend, not a one-week blip.
Financials reversed sharply. Over three months, Financials bled $11.7B. The selling continued last week, with a further $1.2B in net outflows and a flow imbalance of just 29.3. Industrials held positive ground on both timeframes — $801M last week and $18.2B over three months. Energy is a notable divergence: strong over three months at $13.9B in net inflows, but nearly flat this week at just $2.7M. Health Care remains under pressure, posting outflows on both the 1-week and 3-month view.
Equity ETFs absorbed $451.8B last week. Fixed income added $6.9B. Commodities saw $1.5B in net outflows. Over three months, the picture is more dramatic — commodities bled $81.8B, the biggest 3-month outflow of any asset class.
On strategy, Growth funds led with $219.5B last week and a flow imbalance of 99.4 — near-total buying pressure. Vanilla index funds ran almost level with $218.2B. Active ETFs attracted $15.2B, consistent with their 3-month trend of $134.5B. ESG strategies continued to struggle. They shed $539M last week and $15.3B over three months, with a flow imbalance of just 46.2. Low Volatility also saw outflows this week, a sharp contrast to its modest positive 3-month reading.
Overall, the tone is decisively risk-on. Money is rotating into US equities, technology, and growth strategies. Defensive and commodity-linked positioning is being unwound.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
