US and Bonds Lead the Money Rush

The clearest story this week is simple. Investors poured $22.8B into US-focused ETFs in just seven days. That dwarfs every other geography. The flow imbalance sits at 63, signalling solid buying pressure but not panic buying.

Japan tells the opposite story. A $6.2B outflow hit Japanese ETFs this week. That is a sharp reversal. Over three months, Japan attracted $69.7B — the third-largest geography winner globally. Something has shifted. Weekly selling pressure (flow imbalance: 35.8) now contrasts with three months of strong net buying. China suffered a similar fate, bleeding $4.1B this week despite pulling in $21B over the past quarter.

Geography Flows

The US remains dominant on both time horizons: $371.7B over three months, $22.8B this week. No other region comes close on a three-month basis. Emerging markets added $1.5B this week and $18.5B over three months — a steady, consistent bid. Global Ex-US funds stand out with a flow imbalance of 90, meaning nearly all gross flows are net positive. That is unusually one-sided buying.

Taiwan also reversed this week. It attracted $24.8B over three months but lost $668M in the past seven days. Brazil shed $802M this week, extending a three-month outflow trend.

Sector Rotation

Technology ETFs suffered the biggest weekly sector outflow: $2.5B out the door. The flow imbalance dropped to 39.9 — sellers outpaced buyers. Yet over three months, Tech leads all sectors with $60.8B in net inflows. This week's selling looks like profit-taking, not a structural exit.

Health Care and Materials bucked the trend. Both pulled in modest inflows this week ($222M and $240M respectively). Over three months, Health Care has attracted $7.3B. Financials lost $818M this week despite $4B of three-month inflows — another sign of short-term rotation away from recent winners.

Industrials and Energy both bled this week. Industrials pulled in $4.8B over three months but lost $177M in the past seven days.

Asset Class and Strategy

Bonds are surging. Fixed income ETFs took in $15.2B this week, with a flow imbalance of 75.7. Over three months, fixed income gathered $243.5B. Investors are clearly building bond positions alongside equities. Equity ETFs still lead in absolute terms: $21.3B this week, $724B over three months.

Commodities flipped. They attracted $1.3B this week but posted a $31.3B outflow over three months. That is the starkest reversal in any asset class.

On strategy, active ETFs are winning consistently. $5.9B flowed in this week, with $215B over three months and a strong flow imbalance of 76.6. Value strategies also showed conviction this week: $2.1B in, with an imbalance of 88. Price-weighted strategies lost $3.7B — the only notable strategy outflow this week.

The overall tone is risk-on but selective. US equities and bonds are both being bought. This week's selling in Japan, China, Tech, and Financials looks more like rotation than retreat.