Mainland China-mandated funds stood out during the week ending Christmas Eve, with China Equity Funds pulling in over $7 billion for the second week running and China Bond Funds setting a new weekly inflow record for the fourth time so far this year. The flows into China Bond Funds helped all Bond Funds post their biggest one-week total since EPFR started tracking them in 4Q01.
Both China Equity and Bond Funds feature on the list of the 20 major fund groups ranked by year-to-date inflows, with the top slots dominated by fixed income, globally mandated and liquidity fund groups. During the latest week, Physical Gold Funds added to their record-setting totals while Technology and Cryptocurrency Funds stumbled towards the finish line.
Overall, the week ending December 24 saw all EPFR-tracked Bond Funds absorb $37.6 billion and Alternative Funds $3.7 billion. A net $34.4 billion flowed out of Money Market Funds and Equity Funds experienced net redemptions totaling $10.6 billion. In the case of the latter, the headline number was colored by US Equity Funds going ex-dividend and flow reversals tied to the renewal of derivatives and options contracts that expired at the beginning of the latest reporting period.
At the asset class and single country fund levels, Equity Funds with socially responsible (SRI) or environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates tallied their 20th outflow since the beginning of August, Physical Silver Funds posted their biggest inflow in over four years and flows into Municipal Bond Funds climbed to a nine-week high. Brazil Bond and Canada Money Market Funds took in record-setting amounts of fresh money, investors pulled money out of Vietnam Equity Funds for the 22nd time since mid-July and Portugal Equity Funds posted their 47th inflow of 2025.
Emerging Markets Equity Funds
For the second week running, strong flows into mainland China-mandated funds and the diversified Global Emerging Markets (GEM) Equity Funds helped all EPFR-tracked Emerging Markets Equity Funds extend their current inflow streak, which now stands at nine weeks and $66.4 billion. All four of the major regional groups recorded an inflow, as did Frontier Markets Equity Funds, and the headline number for all GEM Equity Funds was the biggest in over 34 months.
Leveraged EM Equity Funds chalked up their sixth inflow over the past eight weeks going into the final days of the year while EM Bear Funds extended their longest run of outflows since 4Q23.
China Equity Funds continue to enjoy a tailwind from the recent annual Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC), which indicated policymakers will look to boost domestic demand and the pricing power of businesses in domestic sectors deemed to be hamstrung by hyper-competition. The resurgence in flows to mainland-mandated funds has not helped the other Greater China fund groups. Hong Kong (SAR) Equity Funds, which took in over $1 billion for four straight weeks coming into September, have taken in only $172 million since then and redemptions from Taiwan (POC) Equity Funds during the latest week hit a three-month high.
Among funds dedicated to smaller Asian markets, flows into Malaysia Equity Funds hit a 33-week high, Philippines Equity Funds tallied their 10th inflow over the past 13 weeks, and Indonesia Equity Funds extended their longest inflow streak since a 14-week run ended in mid-April.
Investors looking to Latin America continue to favor Brazil over Mexico, with Brazil Equity Funds taking in fresh money six of the past seven weeks while Mexico Equity Funds have only posted one inflow since the second week of October. With the artificial intelligence (AI) story getting closer scrutiny and the US and Europe dialing back their commitments to electric vehicles, flows to Chile Equity Funds have faltered in recent weeks.
South Africa, Israel and Poland Equity Funds were the biggest contributors to the headline number for all EMEA Equity Funds.
Developed Markets Equity Funds
A week after EPFR-tracked Developed Markets Equity Funds chalked up a new weekly inflow record, the group posted their biggest outflow since early August. The latest number was influenced by US Equity Funds going ex-dividend and the swings that frequently accompany one of the four ‘quadruple witching’ rounds of options and derivative contract expirations.
The outflows from US Equity Funds came during a week that ended with benchmark equity indexes hitting fresh record highs. American stocks have been supported by over $1.3 trillion of announced share buybacks this year, but research by Senior Liquidity Analyst Winston Chua highlights the limited enthusiasm showed by corporate insiders to buy into this year’s market gains.
“Insider buying by those required to file Form 4 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission has fallen sharply to just $10.9 billion so far this year, a volume not seen since 2017 ($10.4 billion),” Chua noted in a recent report. “With buybacks at all-time highs and insider purchases plunging, the insider-buying-to-buybacks ratio has collapsed to just 0.8%, the lowest since 2010. By contrast, when buybacks reached a similar $1.35 trillion last year, the ratio—though at a three-year low—still held above 3%, comfortably above its 10-year average.”
Europe Equity Funds posted their biggest collective inflow since early June in the wake of the European Central Bank’s decision to keep interest rates on hold for the fourth consecutive meeting. The bulk of the latest inflows went to the diversified Europe Regional Equity Funds, with most of the major single country groups posting modest totals either way. Investors pulled another $303 million out of UK Equity Funds – their third consecutive outflow – but foreign domiciled funds posted a sixth consecutive inflow for the first time since 3Q21.
Among the major Asia Pacific Fund groups, Japan Equity Funds posted their sixth inflow since the final week of October, Australia Equity Funds recorded their 21st inflow over the past five months and Pacific Regional Equity Funds their 12th inflow during the past 14 weeks. Japan remains the largest single country allocation among actively managed Pacific Regional Funds with China in second place. In October, Australia’s weighting fell below Korea’s for the first time since mid-3Q03.
The largest of the major diversified Developed Markets Equity Fund groups, Global Equity Funds, chalked up their biggest inflow since early 2021.
Global sector, Industry and Precious Metals Funds
In a season of glittering Christmas decorations, it was funds offering exposure to precious metals that caught the eye of sector-oriented investors with Physical Gold, Commodities Sector and Physical Silver Funds all absorbing over $1 billion during the week ending Dec. 24.
With the prices of gold and silver testing record highs in late December, flows into Physical Gold and Silver Funds hit nine-week and 58-month highs, respectively. Interest in silver has been heightened by the decision of China – the world’s second largest producer – to license exports. Meanwhile, a fund dedicated to gold miners topped the list of Commodities Sector Funds ranked by flows for the week.
Elsewhere, another four of the 11 major EPFR-tracked Sector Funds recorded inflows while six posted outflows ranging from $5 million for Real Estate Sector Funds to $1.8 billion for Technology Sector Funds.
The latest redemptions from Technology Sector Funds were the largest since late June and the third over the past four weeks as nervous investors continue to kick the tires on the artificial intelligence (AI) story and the potential returns on the trillions of dollars invested in this technology.
With many of those dollars going to build new data centers, Infrastructure Sector Funds added to an inflow streak that started in late April. Current estimates of spending on AI infrastructure through the end of the decade range from $850 billion to $1.1 trillion.
Bond and other Fixed Income Funds
Capping another record-setting year for inflows, EPFR-tracked Bond Funds ended the latest reporting period by setting a new weekly mark. Driving the headline number were US Bond Funds, which posted their biggest inflow since 2Q20, and China Bond Funds which chalked up their fourth weekly record year-to-date. Global, Asia Pacific, Canada and Europe Bond Funds also attracted fresh money. Year-to-date flows for all funds now stand at $947 billion, 117% of the current full-year record set last year.
At the asset class level, redemptions from Green and Catastrophe Bond Funds hit 14 and 20-week highs, respectively, while Bank Loan and Inflation Protected Bond Funds both snapped two-week outflow streaks. Ultra Short Bond Funds tallied their eighth consecutive inflow and flows into Municipal Bond Funds climbed to a nine-week high.
Emerging Markets Bond Funds absorbed nearly $12 billion, with just shy of $9 billion flowing into China Corporate Bond Funds and over $1 billion – a new weekly record – into Korea Bond Funds. The top eight China Corporate Bond Funds ranked by inflows all have AAA-rated science and technology innovation mandates while funds focused on financial sector debt topped the list of Korea Bond Funds.
Flows into US Bond Funds favored Short Term Sovereign Funds with Long Term Corporate Funds experiencing the heaviest redemptions. Foreign domiciled funds extended the inflow streak that started in mid-June and retail share classes attracted fresh money for the first time in three weeks.
Europe Bond Funds posted a modest inflow as flows into UK Bond Funds hit a 25-week high on the heels of the Bank of England’s latest 0.25% interest rate cut. The BOE, which next meets in early February, voted 5-4 to lower its key rate.
There was solid appetite for multi asset exposure, with Total Return and Balanced Funds taking in over $2 billion between them. Of the two, Total Return Funds remain the more popular, recording their 48th inflow year-to-date versus 22 for Balanced Funds.
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