Japan Surges as Regional ETF Flows Top $2 Billion

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Weekly Channel Summary

The Region & Country ETF channel continues to show robust growth, ending the week with total Assets Under Management (AUM) of $257 billion across 185 ETFs and 36 issuers. Flow activity remained strongly positive for the week ending January 16, 2026, with the channel attracting $2.14 billion in net new money. This momentum builds on a solid start to the year, with Year-to-Date (YTD) flows reaching $4.20 billion and a trailing one-year total of $29.36 billion.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Performance across major regional categories was positive across the board this week, led by the Americas category, which posted a Week-to-Date (WTD) return of 1.67%. The Asia-Pacific region also showed strength with a 1.40% gain. While the Eurozone was the primary lagging category among the major regions, it still managed a positive return of 0.60% for the week. On a Year-to-Date basis, all four major regions remain in positive territory, with the Americas leading the group at 5.51%.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Americas 1.67% 7.70% 17.13% 27.66% 5.51% 54.30%
Asia-Pacific 1.40% 6.69% 5.35% 16.67% 4.35% 33.91%
Africa-Middle East 0.97% 5.61% 6.76% 15.30% 4.32% 30.83%
Eurozone 0.60% 4.76% 7.49% 12.91% 2.91% 38.56%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

The standout performer this week was the WisdomTree Japan Opportunities Fund (OPPJ), which surged 6.61%. In contrast, the Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (ARGT) was the primary laggard, declining -2.56%, followed by the Horizon Kinetics Japan Owner Operator ETF (JAPN), which fell -1.85%.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
OPPJ WisdomTree Japan Opportunities Fund 6.61%
COLO Global X MSCI Colombia ETF 6.11%
EPU iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF 5.69%
DXJ WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund 5.20%
KDEF PLUS Korea Defense Industry Index ETF 4.57%
Bottom Performers
ARGT Global X MSCI Argentina ETF -2.56%
JAPN Horizon Kinetics Japan Owner Operator ETF -1.85%
KWT iShares MSCI Kuwait ETF -1.73%
IZRL ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF -1.58%
EWQ iShares MSCI France ETF -1.51%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

Total net flows for the channel reached $2.14 billion this week. The Asia-Pacific category dominated investor interest, receiving $1.097 billion in new capital, bringing its total AUM to $142.1 billion. The Americas category also saw significant inflows of $599 million. While no major region saw total net outflows, Africa-Middle East had the smallest inflow contribution at just $15 million for the week.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Asia-Pacific 103 $142.1B $1,097M $3,305M $5,852M $2,252M $9,239M
Americas 18 $29.7B $599M $1,495M $1,794M $887M $4,432M
Eurozone 53 $82.6B $429M $1,995M $5,026M $970M $15,087M
Africa-Middle East 11 $2.8B $15M $150M $205M $95M $602M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

The top ETF for inflows this week was the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY), which brought in $377 million. On the outflow side, the First Trust Japan AlphaDEX Fund (FJP) saw the largest withdrawal of -$68 million, followed by the iShares MSCI Australia ETF (EWA) with -$48 million.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
EWY iShares MSCI South Korea ETF $377M
EWZ iShares MSCI Brazil ETF $290M
DXJ WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund $215M
ILF iShares Latin America 40 ETF $161M
AIA iShares Asia 50 ETF $152M
Outflows
FJP First Trust Japan AlphaDEX Fund -$68M
EWA iShares MSCI Australia ETF -$48M
INDA iShares MSCI India ETF -$32M
EPI WisdomTree India Earnings Fund -$27M
BBCA JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF -$24M

Issuer League Table Update

The issuer landscape is dominated by iShares, which holds a 49.68% market share, followed by JPMorgan at 15.28%. iShares led the pack in terms of weekly inflows, gathering $1,443 million. Among the top brands, First Trust saw the largest weekly outflows, losing -$37 million.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
iShares 64 $127.81B 49.68%
JPMorgan 5 $39.31B 15.28%
Vanguard 2 $39.06B 15.18%
WisdomTree 10 $12.01B 4.67%
Franklin 18 $9.41B 3.66%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
iShares $1,443M
WisdomTree $206M
KraneShares $159M
Outflows
First Trust -$37M
JPMorgan -$12M
Columbia -$10M

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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.