Global Navigator: Can AI be prompted to turn a profit?

Heading into the second quarter’s final week, WTI crude oil had fallen to under $72 a barrel and the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the US was below $4. With the specter of a prolonged energy shock beginning to fade, investors revisited the question of when the vast investments in artificial intelligence (AI) will translate into meaningful returns.

After two weeks of record inflows, the latest week ended with EPFR-tracked Technology Sector and dedicated Semiconductor Funds both setting new redemption marks while Artificial Intelligence Funds posted their third outflow of this quarter and sixth year-to-date. Energy Sector Funds, meanwhile, extended their longest redemption streak since 2Q25 as outflows climbed to a 64-week high and Inflation Protected Bond Funds posted their smallest weekly inflow since early March.

Overall, the latest week saw EPFR-tracked Equity Funds post their fifth outflow of the year so far while year-to-date flows into all Bond Funds climbed past the $599 billion mark. Investors steered another $1.7 billion into Balanced Funds, which have recorded inflows 10 times during the current quarter, while a net $1.1 billion flowed out of Alternative Funds and $25.5 billion out of Money Market Funds.

Alternative Funds are currently mired in their longest redemption streak since early 1Q24, with investors rotating out of Physical Gold Funds and taking a more cautious approach to cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. Cryptocurrency Funds posted their last inflow during the first week of May. Derivatives Funds, however, remain popular.

At the single country and asset class fund levels, redemptions from Chinese Mainland Money Market Finds climbed to a 23-week high, Japan Money Market Funds posted their biggest inflow since the third week of January, France Bond Funds chalked up their biggest outflow in over 10 months and flows into Norway Equity Funds hit a level last seen in early 1Q17. Free Cash Flow (FCF) Funds experienced heavy redemptions for the second week running, Buyback Funds recorded their biggest outflow since early February and Leveraged Equity Funds extended their longest run of inflows since mid-4Q25.