South Korea Outflows Drag Region Channel Despite China Tech Rally

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Weekly Channel Summary

The Region & Country channel closed the week with $302.31B in total AUM spread across 196 ETFs from 39 issuers. Net flows were negative on the week at $-1,805M, though the channel remains solidly positive over longer horizons with $25,128M gathered YTD and $35,377M over the trailing 1-Year period. The weekly outflow marks a pause relative to the channel’s broader 2026 accumulation trend.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Every region tracked posted negative returns on the week, with Africa-Middle East holding up best at -0.44% while Latin America lagged at -1.97%. Asia-Pacific, the channel’s largest region by fund count and AUM, fell -1.30% WTD but remains the standout performer over longer windows, up 30.19% YTD and 39.62% over the trailing year. Eurozone funds declined -1.73% WTD and trail on a YTD basis at 8.41%. North America was the weakest 1-Month performer at -2.27% despite strong 3-Month and 6-Month gains of 4.15% and 10.73%, respectively.

Region Performance Snapshot

Region WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Africa-Middle East -0.44% 0.81% 0.12% 4.62% 7.17% 17.28%
North America -0.62% -2.27% 4.15% 10.73% 12.33% 21.63%
Asia-Pacific -1.30% 1.61% -3.15% 18.38% 30.19% 39.62%
Eurozone -1.73% -3.28% 0.32% 10.12% 8.41% 15.43%
Latin America -1.97% 7.41% 6.03% 5.07% 15.99% 27.29%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

China-focused technology and semiconductor names dominated the top of the leaderboard, led by KSTR at 7.36% WTD, followed by TGRZ at 6.19% and SMHC at 5.88%. On the downside, South Korea-linked funds were hit hardest, with TUR falling -7.81% and KMCA down -5.20%. The bottom five list was rounded out by additional Korea and Colombia exposures, underscoring broad weakness in select emerging markets this week. This divergence highlights the split within Asia-Pacific itself, where Chinese tech strength offset sharp Korean declines.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
KSTR KraneShares China Technology & Semiconductor STAR 50 Index ETF 7.36%
TGRZ China AI Tigers LLM ETF 6.19%
SMHC VanEck China Semiconductor ETF 5.88%
CRAM Defiance China Memory ETF 4.06%
KURE KraneShares MSCI All China Health Care Index ETF 3.49%
Bottom Performers
TUR iShares MSCI Turkey ETF -7.81%
KMCA PLUS Korea Manufacturing Core Alliance Index ETF -5.20%
MKOR Matthews Korea Active ETF -4.50%
FLKR Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF -4.36%
COLO Global X MSCI Colombia ETF -4.15%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The channel posted a net outflow of $-1,805M for the week, driven almost entirely by Asia-Pacific, which shed $-1,759M and also led 30-Day outflows at $-2,037M. Eurozone funds saw a smaller outflow of $-187M, while North America led inflows with $108M, followed by Latin America at $33M and flat flows in Africa-Middle East. Despite the weekly pullback, Asia-Pacific remains the largest source of longer-term inflows, with $16,580M YTD and $21,046M over the trailing year, more than any other region. Eurozone’s 90-Day inflow of $2,611M also stands out relative to its negative weekly print.

Region Flows Summary

Region Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
North America 3 $18.88B $108M $273M $918M $3,119M $3,370M
Latin America 15 $17.98B $33M -$95M -$1,568M $2,518M $3,693M
Africa-Middle East 12 $3.03B $0M -$32M -$208M $338M $625M
Eurozone 55 $87.78B -$187M $172M $2,611M $2,574M $6,644M
Asia-Pacific 111 $174.64B -$1,759M -$2,037M $5,431M $16,580M $21,046M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

Single-country flows were led by EWC, which gathered $108M, followed by FLTW at $83M and VPL at $70M. On the outflow side, EWY saw a substantial $-1,158M redemption, by far the largest in the channel, followed by INDA at $-198M. These two outflows alone account for the majority of the channel’s net weekly redemption, reinforcing that South Korea and India exposures were the primary drag this week.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
EWC iShares MSCI Canada ETF $108M
FLTW Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF $83M
VPL Vanguard FTSE Pacific ETF $70M
EWZ iShares MSCI Brazil ETF $61M
THD iShares MSCI Thailand ETF $44M
Outflows
EWY iShares MSCI South Korea ETF -$1,158M
INDA iShares MSCI India ETF -$198M
CQQQ Invesco China Technology ETF -$176M
EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF -$132M
DXJ WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund -$106M

Issuer League Table Update

iShares remains the dominant issuer in the channel with $163.19B in AUM and a 53.98% market share, followed by JPMorgan at $46.80B and 15.48% share. Despite its scale, iShares suffered the largest weekly outflow among issuers at $-1,391M, consistent with the EWY-driven redemptions noted above. Vanguard led weekly inflows with $73M, followed by Franklin at $33M, while WisdomTree and Invesco also posted outflows of $-202M and $-178M, respectively. The contrast between iShares’ scale and its outflow leadership highlights concentrated redemption pressure within a handful of its country-specific funds this week.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
iShares 64 $163.19B 53.98%
JPMorgan 5 $46.80B 15.48%
Vanguard 2 $39.20B 12.97%
Franklin 18 $15.90B 5.26%
WisdomTree 10 $12.52B 4.14%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
Vanguard $73M
Franklin $33M
OTG $1M
Outflows
iShares -$1,391M
WisdomTree -$202M
Invesco -$178M

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Disclosures

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.

This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.