Market factor

Foreign investor flows

Impact tier: 3 — Flows and mechanics
Category: Positioning, sentiment, and fund flows
Watch: TIC data; foreign holdings of Treasuries and equities
Frequency: monthly
Effect lasts: months

Foreign investor flows. Foreigners own a fifth of US equities and a third of Treasuries; their withdrawal is the dollar-system risk.

What to watch: TIC data; foreign holdings of Treasuries and equities. It arrives monthly, and the effect typically lasts months.

It sits in tier 3 — Flows and mechanics: Moves prices without changing anything fundamental, on horizons from hours to weeks. Who is forced to buy or sell, and when. Ignore this tier and market moves will regularly look inexplicable.

Primary source — home.treasury.gov ↗

Its neighbourhood

Everything this entry connects to directly. Click any point to follow it.

Trends tracked by this

Reserve diversification and goldReal but not yet at scale. The effects described are expected rather than observed.
Gulf sovereign capital as global allocatorCompounding now. Evidence is visible in company results and data.

Also in Positioning, sentiment, and fund flows

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Retail investor sentiment (AAII)Tier 3
Fund manager survey (BofA)Tier 3
Active manager exposure (NAAIM)Tier 3
Fear and greed compositesTier 3
Fund flowsTier 3
Margin debtTier 3
Short interestTier 3
CTA and trend-following positioningTier 3
Volatility-control and risk-parity fundsTier 3
Dealer gamma positioningTier 3
Sovereign wealth funds and pension allocationTier 3
Retail trading activityTier 3
Crypto marketsTier 3
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Pension funding statusTier 3
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Market breadthTier 3
Factor and style rotationTier 3