The biggest story this week is a sharp rotation away from Japan and China. Both markets bled heavily — Japan lost $8.6B in net outflows and China shed $8.6B, with China's flow imbalance hitting just 30.7. That is deep selling pressure. Over three months, Japan was a $289.5B net inflow darling. That reversal is striking.
US-focused ETFs pulled in $29.1B net over the past week. The flow imbalance sat at 62.8 — solid but not extreme. Over three months, the US gathered $694B, confirming it as the dominant destination for institutional capital right now.
Global ETFs grabbed $19B net this week, with a flow imbalance of 83.8. That signals near-one-sided buying. Developed Markets ex-US and Global ex-US also posted positive but smaller inflows. The contrast with China is sharp. Over three months, China has bled $49.1B, and the selling has not let up this week. Switzerland flipped negative this week at -$575M despite a positive 3m trend — a small but notable reversal.
Tech dominates. Information Technology pulled in $8.6B over the past week, the largest single-sector inflow by a wide margin. Materials and Real Estate also gained, at $1.2B and $1.1B respectively. Energy shed $1.4B this week — a stark contrast to its solid $10.5B three-month intake. That is a clear short-term reversal worth watching. Industrials also flipped negative this week at -$792M, despite $13.5B in three-month inflows. Health Care is similarly struggling, with three-month outflows of $6.4B accelerating this week. Communication Services bled another $513M on the week, consistent with its three-month trend.
Equities took in $34B net this week. Fixed Income added $21.3B — a strong showing with a flow imbalance of 75.4. Commodities posted $3.1B in weekly inflows but the three-month picture is very different: a $70.7B net outflow over 90 days. Institutions are dipping back in short-term, but the trend remains against commodities. Currency ETFs saw $813M in outflows.
On strategy, Active funds are the clear standout. They pulled in $21.9B this week with a flow imbalance of 87.3 — the highest of any strategy. Over three months, Active gathered $146B. Growth strategies brought in $4B this week and $330B over three months. ESG continues to lose ground, with -$804M this week and -$24.6B over three months. Vanilla passive flows turned slightly negative this week at -$3.1B, a rare wobble for the largest pool of ETF assets.
Overall, the tone is cautiously risk-on. Investors are buying US equities, global funds, and active strategies while pulling back from energy, China, Japan, 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.
