View from the Observation Deck

1. The green line in the first chart shows large blocks of capital flowing into the stock market. The vast majority of said flows is institutional money.
2. The second chart shows money flowing out of the stock market over the same time frame. The vast majority of those outflows are from retail investors executing smaller trades.
3. While the charts only reflect trading activity since 8/11, the visual presented has been playing out since 2009. The average retail investor is fleeing stocks despite positive returns.
4. From 3/9/09 (end of last bear market) through 2/8/12, the S&P 500 posted a cumulative total return of 112.1%, compared to 12.3% for the Barclay's Capital U.S. Treasury: Intermediate Index.
5. From 2009-2011, equity mutual funds reported net redemptions totaling $175.8 billion, compared to net inflows totaling $742.1 billion for bond mutual funds. (Source: ICI.org)