The headline flow numbers this week require a look under the hood. A significant portion of the surge into U.S. Equity funds was driven by the mechanical noise of major index rebalances and the large-scale custom creates executed to facilitate them, with expectations that a significant portion of these flows will reverse in the coming week. Beyond the structural flows, performance trends highlighted a global decoupling. The Eurozone found fresh momentum to finish in the green, sharply diverging from the weakness seen across the Americas, while speculative appetite concentrated in the single-stock arena where volatility plays delivered triple-digit moves.
Equity
The U.S. Size & Style ETF channel recorded $40.55 billion in weekly inflows, pushing total assets past the $7 trillion mark. Large Cap Value strategies accounted for nearly half of this volume, gathering $19.2 billion. On the performance front, U.S. Large Cap Growth posted a 0.50% gain, while Small Cap Value lagged the broader group.
Activity in the Global Size & Style channel focused heavily on Large Cap Blend strategies this week. This specific segment drove the majority of flows within the $150 billion category, maintaining its position as the primary destination for capital in the space.
Assets in the Global Ex-U.S. channel have now reached a total of $1.48 trillion following recent market activity. The data highlights continued capital accumulation in international equity strategies as the asset base expands to new highs.
Region & Country ETFs took in $1.87 billion, with Asia-Pacific funds capturing $758 million of that total. Performance diverged significantly across geographies, as the Eurozone gained 1.12% for the week while the Americas region finished down 1.52%.
The Sector & Industry channel saw a surge of $5.6 billion in inflows this week. Information Technology strategies led the volume, attracting the majority of new capital relative to other industry verticals.
Thematic ETFs gathered $2.76 billion, led by Multi-Sector strategies which took in $1.175 billion. Performance was anchored by Precious Metals themes, which rose 3.02%, standing in contrast to Evolving Consumer strategies which declined 2.64%.
The Specialty channel saw $166 million in net flows, with Hedged Equity strategies responsible for $146 million of the total. Fidelity and JPMorgan funds topped the leaderboard for the week, while private credit strategies saw slight performance declines.
Fixed Income
Taxable Fixed Income funds added $9.46 billion in new assets this week. Government Long Bonds and Multi-Sector strategies were the primary drivers of this growth, with Government Long positions also posting a positive weekly return of 0.53%.
Municipal bond funds gathered $893 million, with Intermediate-term strategies accounting for $372 million of those inflows. Year-to-date, intermediate strategies are now leading category gains at 4.48%, while Single State munis posted a slight 0.18% advance for the week.
Flows into Specialty Fixed Income strategies have remained consistent, pushing the year-to-date total past the $20 billion milestone. The data shows steady weekly accumulation in this niche segment of the bond market.
Commodities
Commodities ETFs recorded $1.89 billion in weekly inflows, with Precious Metals strategies capturing $1.62 billion of that volume. Industrial Metals led performance with a 3.14% gain, while Shipping Freight strategies experienced a sharp drawdown of 6.42%.
Currencies & Crypto
The Currency channel saw net outflows for the week, though Short Yen strategies stood out with a 2.48% performance surge. Conversely, long exposure to the Yen struggled, ending the week in negative territory.
Crypto ETFs faced $952 million in net outflows as prices for Bitcoin and altcoins declined. The data reflects a week of broad-based selling pressure across the major digital asset funds.
Alternatives
The Alternatives channel was characterized by a split in activity, with flows moving into Long Volatility funds while Short Volatility strategies rallied on price. The data highlights a divergence between where capital was allocated and where performance was generated.
Non-Traditional
This channel attracted $2.28 billion in inflows, with activity concentrated in commodities. Leverage Precious Metals strategies returned 3.43% for the week, while energy-focused funds declined 3.06% amid slipping oil prices.
Buffer ETFs saw continued growth, driven by December reset activity which brought in $169 million. Total assets in the channel are now approaching $80 billion, with Precious Metals-linked buffers posting positive returns for the period.
Single Stock ETFs saw extreme volatility, with the “DJT” tracker recording a 100% gain for the week. The data underscores the wide dispersion in returns available in this channel depending on the underlying equity target.
Year-to-date flows into Synthetic Income strategies are now nearing $70 billion. The category continues to see consistent weekly inflows as asset levels expand.
Multi-Asset
Flows in the Multi-Asset channel shifted toward Growth and Alternative strategies this week. Simultaneously, funds categorized as Conservative experienced net outflows, marking a rotation in asset placement within the group.
