Institutional money is flooding back into equities. ETF net inflows hit $68.4B across all asset classes in the past week. Equities alone pulled in a net $68.4B, with fixed income adding another $14.3B. The tone is clearly risk-on.
Japan is the standout story of the week. It drew $31.0B in net inflows — just behind the U.S. at $33.4B — with a flow imbalance score of 85.5. That is exceptionally strong buying pressure. Over three months, Japan has already accumulated $314B in net inflows. The momentum is not new, but it is accelerating.
The U.S. remains the single largest destination. A flow imbalance of 68.7 over one week confirms steady institutional demand, not just passive rebalancing.
China is the clear loser. It posted a $12.1B net outflow this week alone, with a flow imbalance of just 25. Over three months, outflows total $46.7B. That reversal is sharp. China had positive gross inflows of $70.6B over the quarter, but redemptions of $117.4B swamped them. Money is actively leaving.
The UK attracted $2.2B this week with an imbalance of 89.2 — near-unanimous buying pressure. Global Ex-U.S. funds also showed a 98.3 imbalance, meaning almost no outflows at all.
Technology leads sector inflows at $2.7B net this week. The imbalance score of 55.9 is moderate, meaning gross flows in both directions are heavy. Over three months, Tech has absorbed — the largest of any sector by a wide margin.
The key rotation shift is in Materials and Real Estate. Both are positive this week ($693M and $592M respectively). Yet over three months, Materials was deeply negative at -$6.2B. That is a meaningful reversal. Real Estate is also recovering: $2.4B positive over three months, now picking up pace.
Energy flipped the other way. It posted +$11.2B over three months but is now seeing -$719M in outflows this week. Short-term sellers are trimming energy exposure.
Financials bled $578M this week. Over three months the sector is down $10.96B — one of the worst-performing sectors for flows.
Commodities are a striking divergence. This week they attracted $3.1B in net inflows. Over three months, they shed $72B — the only asset class with a large negative three-month figure. Investors appear to be dipping back in after a prolonged exit.
On strategy, Active ETFs pulled in $10.4B this week with an imbalance of 82.3. Over three months, active strategies absorbed $128.9B. The shift from passive to active continues. Growth strategies dominate the three-month view with $326.8B in net flows — a flow imbalance of 93.1. ESG, by contrast, is negative over three months at -$14.8B, though it squeaked slightly positive this week.
The overall picture is firmly risk-on. Investors are buying equities, rotating into Japan and developed markets outside the U.S., and rebuilding positions in beaten-down sectors like Materials. China remains the one major geography where exits are accelerating.
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.
