The exodus from US equity funds is ongoing.

Funds focused on US shares shed another $5.2 billion over the latest weekly reporting period, according to EPFR.

It was the fifth consecutive weekly outflow and brought the YTD total to more than $42 billion.

Investors once again favored emerging market exposure in equities. The $1.65 billion inflow to developing nation shares brought the total for 2023 to almost $34 billion, a stark contrast to the net $15.5 billion that’s come out of DM stock funds.

Chinese shares saw a second week of inflows even as the underwhelming growth target adopted at the NPC rattled investor confidence and geopolitical tensions continued to dominate headlines.

Meanwhile, inflows to bonds continued, led again by US fixed income. The $8.2 billion net inflow to global bonds was the 10th consecutive.

Note that bonds are a mirror image of equities when it comes to the DM/EM juxtaposition. The pace of outflows from emerging market debt did slow sharply over the week, though, while the pace of DM inflows receded on slower US bond-buying ($5.47 billion versus $7.39 billion the prior week).

Of course, the elephant in the room is the allure of money market funds boasting the highest yields many young investors have ever seen. USD “cash” proxies continue to be a magnet — or a straw depending on how you want to look at it.

Nearly $200 billion has flowed into cash YTD, and at nearly $5 trillion, the AUM of US money market funds sits at a record high.