Japan stole the show this week. ETFs focused on Japanese equities pulled in a net $35.5B over the past seven days. That is by far the biggest geographic inflow of the week. The flow imbalance reads 92.8 — strong, near-unanimous buying pressure. Over three months, Japan has attracted $298.9B in net inflows. Conviction in the trade is not fading.
China tells the opposite story. It shed $7.4B in net outflows this week. The flow imbalance sits at just 24.4. Over three months, China has lost $36.7B. Selling pressure is consistent and deepening, not a one-week blip. U.S. ETFs show a near-balanced picture — a massive $44.6B in gross inflows offset by $46.3B in outflows, leaving a net loss of $1.6B. Broad U.S. equity funds are effectively seeing a wash.
Outside of Japan, the week's winners are modest but consistent. Global Ex-U.S. funds added $1.2B. Emerging Markets drew $766M. Developed Markets Ex-U.S. picked up $673M. All carry flow imbalances above 75, meaning buyers are firmly in control. North America ex-U.S. and South Korea both posted small net outflows, with South Korea shedding $654M on the week despite being a steady gainer over three months ($20.5B).
Tech is the biggest loser by far. Information Technology ETFs bled $2.7B this week. That is the largest sector outflow, with a flow imbalance of just 42.1 — nearly balanced but leaning toward sellers. Financials dropped $1.1B. Health Care lost $854M. Utilities and Materials each shed over $600M.
The flip side: Real Estate led sector inflows at $274M. Energy added $243M. Consumer Discretionary picked up $213M, and Industrials brought in $150M. Over three months, Tech was the undisputed leader at $97.4B in net inflows and $17.3B into Industrials. The weekly reversal in Tech is the sharpest trend break in the data — a sector that dominated three-month flows is now seeing meaningful selling.
Equities remain the dominant destination. Equity ETFs absorbed a net $38.9B this week. Fixed Income added $7.7B. Commodities saw a small net outflow of $287M — consistent with the three-month trend, where commodities lost $81.3B. Investors are not chasing hard assets.
On strategy, Active ETFs are the standout. They pulled in $13B this week with a flow imbalance of 84.1 — the highest of any major strategy. Over three months, active funds have taken in $132.9B. Passive Vanilla funds still dominate in absolute terms at $22.8B this week. ESG continued to lose ground, shedding $1.8B on the week and $13.4B over three months. Growth ETFs attracted $1.5B this week, consistent with their $231.9B three-month haul.
The overall tone is cautiously risk-on. Money is moving into equities, Japan, and active strategies, while rotating away from Tech, China, and ESG.
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.
