Active strategies dominated the past week. $21.9B poured into active ETFs in seven days alone. That flow imbalance sits at 87 — one of the strongest buying signals in this dataset.
The headline number: US-focused ETFs pulled in $28.7B over the week. Global ETFs added another $19.4B. Together, those two categories account for the vast majority of geography inflows. The risk appetite is clearly pointed at familiar, liquid markets.
The US remains the dominant destination. Its $28.7B weekly inflow sits at a flow imbalance of 62.5 — healthy but not extreme. Over three months, US ETFs have absorbed $697B, still the biggest geography by a wide margin.
The sharpest reversal this week is Japan. Over three months, Japan attracted $290.5B — the second-largest geography inflow globally. This week it bled $8.6B. China followed with a $8.5B outflow this week, with a flow imbalance of just 31. Both markets face selling pressure despite strong prior trends.
Switzerland also flipped. It pulled in $3.5B over three months. This week it lost $575M, with a flow imbalance of just 21 — strong selling pressure. The UK saw modest outflows of $353M this week, reversing its $3.4B three-month inflow.
Technology leads all sectors. $8.6B came in this week, the top flow. Over three months, Tech absorbed $98.9B. The trend is consistent and shows no sign of reversing.
Materials and Real Estate both saw solid inflows this week — $1.1B and $1.1B respectively. That is a notable shift. Over three months, Materials actually had $5.3B in outflows. Buyers stepped back in this week.
Energy flipped the other way. It lost $1.3B this week despite a $10.4B three-month inflow. Industrials also turned negative, shedding $835M this week after pulling in $13B over three months. Both suggest short-term profit-taking on cyclical positions.
Equities dominate asset class flows. $34B came in over the week. Fixed income added $21.3B — a strong second. Commodities brought in $3.1B this week, a striking reversal from their three-month picture, which showed a $70.4B outflow. Buyers appear to be dipping back in.
On strategy, the clearest signal is the flight from passive to active. Vanilla ETFs shed $3.1B this week despite a $463B three-month inflow. Active strategies absorbed $21.9B this week with an imbalance score of 87. Growth strategies also remained firm at $4B, and ESG continued to bleed — $804M out this week and $23.1B over three months.
The overall tone is cautiously risk-on. Investors are buying equities and bonds simultaneously. They are paying up for active management and rotating within sectors rather than abandoning them.
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.
