There’s been no capitulation in aggregate equities flows.

So far in 2023, stock-focused ETFs and mutual funds have collected a net $15.8 billion ($73 billion into ETFs and $57 billion out of mutual funds), according to the latest update from EPFR.

That’s a paltry sum, to be sure. But it does underscore the notion that despite a lingering sense of angst tied to any number of macro and geopolitical risks, there’s been no wholesale abandonment of stocks.

You can slice and dice the data to paint a far more nuanced picture. The breakdown by region, for example, still shows large outflows for developed market stock funds versus inflows for EM shares.

The DM exodus is down to persistent outflows from US-focused funds, which lost more than $2.7 billion in the week to April 26. Together with the prior week’s $1.32 billion outflow, a big $4.9 billion haul during the week to April 12 was nearly reversed.

Of course, cash is the big flows story in 2023. For the first time in 15 years, cash is a viable asset class. Indeed, today’s T-bills would be mistaken for a high yield bond in mid-2021.

So far this year, cash has seen more than $630 billion in inflows. At the same time, Treasurys are on pace to take in more than $215 billion for the full year.

Consider this: If the YTD trends were to hold, equities would take in just $50 billion in 2023, compared to almost $1 trillion during 2021’s stimulus-fueled bonanza.

The same extrapolation for cash would make 2023 a $2 trillion inflow year.

BofA’s Michael Hartnett described 2023 as a “flight to safety” and “flight to quality” year so far, referencing the dash for cash and the bid for bonds, respectively. Treasurys have seen inflows for 11 consecutive weeks.