US-focused ETFs pulled in $135B in the past week. That dwarfs every other geography combined. The flow imbalance of 80 signals strong, one-sided buying pressure. Japan came second at $14.4B. China, by contrast, shed $8.6B — the clearest regional outflow of the week.
The US trend is not new. Over three months, American ETFs absorbed $675B in net inflows. Japan added $307B over the same stretch, making it the standout international destination. Both regions show consistent demand across short and long timeframes.
China tells a different story. Outflows of $8.6B this week extend a $38.5B three-month bleed. Buying pressure sits at just 22.7 — well below the 35 threshold that separates selling from balanced flow. Switzerland and Germany also flipped to outflows on the week, despite Switzerland posting inflows over three months. That's a short-term deterioration worth watching.
Emerging Markets attracted $531M this week, modest but positive. The three-month read is stronger at $23.5B. Frontier markets like Latin America showed a flow imbalance of 93.4 this week — extreme buying pressure on a small base.
Technology led sector inflows this week at $1.5B net. But the gross flows tell a more cautious story. $11.6B came in, while $10.1B left. The flow imbalance of 53.5 is nearly flat — money is moving through Tech, not piling in.
Industrials and Energy were cleaner winners. Industrials pulled $736M on a flow imbalance of 62.8. Energy added $363M. Over three months, both sectors show sustained positive flows — $17B and $11.8B respectively. The consistency suggests genuine rotation into cyclicals, not a one-week blip.
Health Care and Materials were the clearest losers. Health Care lost $794M this week. Materials shed $908M. Both have bled over three months too — Health Care down $6.1B, Materials down $7.7B. Financials flipped to a small positive this week after a $12.2B three-month outflow. That's a potential reversal signal.
Equities dominated asset class flows at $146.7B net this week. Fixed income added $9.4B. Commodities posted a small net outflow of $204M — a reversal from a $80.9B three-month outflow hole. Commodities may be stabilising.
The biggest strategy story is Growth. It pulled $95.1B this week alone. Flow imbalance hit 98.3 — near-total buying pressure. Over three months, Growth attracted $327B. Vanilla passive strategies added $32.8B this week and $500B over three months. Active strategies continue to gather assets — $6.5B this week, $133B over three months.
ESG remains under pressure. It was essentially flat this week but shows a $14.2B net outflow over three months. That trend is not reversing.
Overall, the tone is firmly risk-on. Money is moving into US equities, growth strategies, and cyclical sectors. Defensive plays — Health Care, Consumer Staples, Low Volatility — are being passed over.
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.
