$44B Rush Back into Equity Funds: Are Investors Betting on AI ETFs Again?

Global equity funds attracted $44.1 billion in the week ending Sept. 23 — a dramatic U-turn — as ETF flows suggest a familiar trade may be driving the rebound. The momentum snapped two consecutive weeks of outflows, marking the largest weekly inflow since July 8. That followed a $22.3 billion outflow in the previous week. The U.S. was the clear destination, according to LSEG Lipper data cited by Reuters, absorbing $37.6 billion. European and Asian equity funds attracted $2.26 billion and $2.21 billion, respectively. Technology funds alone pulled in $5.29 billion, their biggest weekly inflow since July 29. See More: Top Momentum Stocks ETFs Provide a Granular View of the Rotation On Sept. 23, iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:IVV) recorded a massive $16.35 billion inflow, according to ETF.com. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) had added $3.87 billion, while Invesco QQQ (NASDAQ:QQQ) had attracted $2.84 billion. Last week, IVV collected around $31.57 billion (ending Sept. 25), while SPY and QQQ attracted $22.38 billion and $1.47 billion, respectively, per ETFDb. That points to strong demand for broad U.S. equities, but investors also put money into more targeted growth exposure. The technology ETF data is particularly notable for last week. Technology ETFs recorded $4.1 billion in weekly inflows, with VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) accounting for $3.9 billion of that total, according to ETF Channel. Read Also: $700 Billion S&P 500 Sell-Off Meets $100 Oil: Are Investors Rotating Into Value ETFs? Data Suggests AI Is Central to the Comeback IVV and SPY show investors returning to the broader U.S. market, while QQQ and semiconductor ETFs indicate that AI and technology remain central to the risk-on trade. That makes the next phase of the rotation worth watching: whether flows continue broadening into small caps and other sectors, or remain concentrated in the technology and semiconductor ETFs that have powered much of the market’s AI-driven rally. Read Also: Bond Investors Are Fleeing Mutual Funds for ETFs: Why $12B in ETF Inflows Matters Now Photo: Shutterstock