Japan's ETF category pulled in a dominant $26.6B in net inflows this past week. That was the single biggest geographic flow. It dwarfed every other region and signals a clear institutional rotation toward Asian developed markets.
The contrast with China is sharp. China bled $7.4B in outflows over the past week. Its flow imbalance sat at just 25.5, deep in selling territory. Over three months, China is still down $35.2B net. Investors are not returning to that trade.
Japan is the standout on both timeframes. Over three months, it attracted $305.7B in net inflows. That is the second-largest geographic flow behind only the broad US universe. This week's $26.6B confirms the trend is still alive.
The US pulled in just $182M net this week despite $44.5B in gross inflows. Buying and selling are almost perfectly matched, with a flow imbalance of 50.1. Over three months, the US has attracted $546B net, easily the largest geographic total. But the weekly signal is flat.
Emerging markets hold steady. They drew $669M net this week, with a flow imbalance of 78.4. Over three months, the category attracted $23.9B. Latin America had a near-perfect imbalance of 97.5 this week, though the absolute dollar amount is small.
Developed Europe saw a $369M outflow this week. Germany bled $152M with an imbalance of just 9.0, meaning almost all activity was selling.
This is the week's most notable reversal. Information Technology posted a $893M net outflow this week. Its flow imbalance dropped to 47.4. Over three months, Tech was the top sector with $99B in net inflows. That trend has stalled hard.
Materials and Utilities both saw heavy selling this week. Materials lost $755M. Utilities dropped $670M with an imbalance of 21.6.
Real Estate and Consumer Discretionary picked up the slack. Real Estate attracted $461M with an imbalance of 70.0. Consumer Discretionary added $456M. Neither was a big mover over three months. Both are emerging as short-term rotation beneficiaries.
Industrials remains solid across both periods. It added $159M this week and $17.6B over three months.
Equities dominated again this week with $30.1B in net inflows. Fixed Income added $6.8B. That is a consistent pattern. Over three months, equities pulled in $1.09T against $191B for fixed income.
Commodities are under pressure. They posted a $1B outflow this week and a massive $81B outflow over three months. The gold and energy trade is losing steam in ETF flow terms.
Active strategies attracted $10.8B this week, versus $13.9B for vanilla passive funds. Over three months, passive still leads with $485B, but active's $132.9B share is notable. Growth strategies showed exceptional buying pressure this week, with an imbalance of 80.2.
ESG posted $193M in inflows this week, but is $13.5B in the red over three months. That reversal is still playing out.
Overall, the tone is cautiously risk-on — equities and bonds both bid, Japan preferred over the US in the short run, and Tech showing its first signs of fatigue after a strong quarter.
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.
