1. Mutual Fund and ETF Stock Fund Flows Have Been Straight Down Since 2016…..Negative $200B+ 2020
Do vs. say-From Advisor Perspectives
Although there is extreme speculation occurring by some cohorts of investors—especially within the options market—the same can’t be said about all behavioral measures of sentiment. Case in point would be equity mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows. As you can see in the chart below, there has been a steady cumulative downdraft in flows since the beginning of 2015—belying the extremes witnessed more recently in the options market. I will speculate that there may be an age/demographic bias at play; with younger traders/investors betting on a rising market (or at least a rise in the stocks on which they’re betting with call options), and older investors less sanguine.
Fund Flows’ More Somber Message
Source: Charles Schwab, Investment Company Institute (ICI), as of 8/31/2020.
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