Where is the Money Flowing? Results From Our Screeners

Lester Davids
Feb 24
3 min read

Research Notes February 2026 > https://www.unum.capital/post/rfeb2026

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The screeners reveal a market characterized by intense, yield-hungry defensiveness. Professional capital is completely ignoring traditional high-beta Tech and Growth, aggressively rotating into "safe haven" sectors, yield-bearing assets, and highly specific international pockets.

While the momentum indicators are flashing overbought, the assets themselves are incredibly conservative: traders are chasing price strength in Utilities, Consumer Staples, and Healthcare. The dominant trade is a massive "risk-off" flight to safety, signaling a deep apprehension about broad market valuations or economic acceleration, offset by a desperate hunt for yield as rate expectations potentially shift.

Size Factors 📏

Small Cap 🐜: Muted. Broad small-cap indices are glaringly absent from these momentum screens. Capital is not trickling down the risk curve; it is congregating at the top.
Mid Cap ⚖️: Selective. Mid Caps only appear in highly specific, factor-screened formats (like QVMM for Midcap Multi-factor). The broad "forgotten middle" trade is not the primary driver here.
Large Cap 🐳: Dominant but Defensive. Heavy concentration is evident in massive, highly liquid sector SPDRs and Vanguard funds (XLV, XLP, XLU). The "Magnificent Seven" trade is dead in these flows; Large Cap money is strictly playing defense.

Style Factors 🎨

Value 🏷️: Leading. Value is heavily favored, but primarily through the lens of traditional, hard-asset, or regulated sectors like Real Estate (VNQ, XLRE) and Utilities (XLU, VPU).
Quality 💎: Implicit Support. Professional flows are hiding in established giants within Healthcare (IXJ, IBB) and Consumer Staples (VDC, IYK). The market is heavily rewarding stable, predictable cash flows.
Growth 🚀: Distressed / Rebound. Pure tech or broad growth is entirely absent. The only "Growth" catching a bid is Biotech and Genomics (IBB, XBI, ARKG), appearing specifically in the "Strong Off Lows" screener—indicating a mean-reversion or bottom-fishing trade rather than structural momentum.
Momentum 🌊: The Defensive Paradox. These are momentum and overbought screeners, but they are capturing historically low-beta assets. The market is experiencing extreme technical momentum in "boring" sectors. Momentum is currently a risk-off trade.

Risk & Yield Factors ⚠️

Low Volatility 🛡️: High Conviction. SPLV (US Low Vol) and IDLV (Intl Low Vol) are heavily featured across multiple timeframes. Capital is explicitly paying a premium for downside protection.
High Yield / Dividend 💰: Screaming Signal. This is a massive driver of current flows. REITs (REZ, DFGR, USRT), Utilities, and Energy Income (EINC) are everywhere. Total return via high dividend distribution is a top priority.
Profitability 📊: Anchored. By ignoring speculative growth and focusing on Staples and Healthcare, the market is firmly demanding current, proven profitability over future promises.
Liquidity 💧: Extremely High. Institutional money is crowding into massive flagship ETFs (iShares, SPDR, Vanguard). Nobody is venturing into obscure or illiquid vehicles; they want to ensure they can exit the trade quickly.
Carry 🎒: Aggressive. The sheer volume of Real Estate and MLP/Energy Infrastructure (MLPX) funds indicates institutions are heavily hunting for carry, likely positioning for a peaking or falling interest rate environment.

Geography Factors 🌍

US 🇺🇸: The Core Anchor. The US remains the dominant destination for defensive safety (US Staples, US Healthcare, US Low Volatility).
ex-US / Developed Markets 🌍: Selective Safety. Capital flowing outside the US is still seeking safety, evident in International Low Volatility (IDLV) and specific developed outliers like Norway (NORW).
Emerging Markets / Frontier Markets 🐅: Tactical Thrusts. Broad EM indices are absent, but highly targeted momentum thrusts are occurring in specific Southeast Asian markets, notably Thailand (THD) and the Philippines (EPHE). These are idiosyncratic, tactical trades rather than broad emerging market risk-on behavior.

Thematic & Sector Factors 🏗️

Defensive 🏰: Extreme. This is the defining characteristic of the entire data set. Utilities, Staples, Healthcare, and Gold Miners (GDX, SGDM) completely monopolize the capital flows.
Cyclical 🔄: Subdued / Absent. Traditional economic cyclicals (Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Financials) are missing. The only "cyclical" elements are Energy Infrastructure and Gold, which are currently being traded as inflation hedges or yield vehicles rather than pure economic growth plays.
ESG 🌿: Niche. Low Carbon (SMOG) and Sustainable goals (SDG) appear briefly, but they look like collateral beneficiaries of broader flows rather than the primary driver of capital allocation.
Multi-Factor 🧩: Present but Secondary. Funds like QVMM appear, but single-sector (Healthcare) or single-factor (Low Volatility) ETFs are taking the vast majority of the volume.
Investment (Capex) 🏭: Structural. Despite the defensive posture, specific long-term capex themes are catching bids, notably Electrification/Battery Tech (LIT, ZAP) and Energy Infrastructure (MLPX), indicating a willingness to look past short-term economic fears for generational infrastructure shifts.