US equity-focused ETFs and mutual funds just saw their largest one-week outflow since mid-June.

The $5.522 billion exodus was the second consecutive, and coincided with deteriorating sentiment and mounting losses for US shares, which are on track for their first monthly decline since February.

Regular readers can (hopefully) recite the 2023 history of US equity fund flows from memory by now. Net flows were negative to the tune of nearly $70 billion through late May, before Nvidia’s blockbuster beat and raise turned the tide. Days later, the debt ceiling standoff in D.C. was resolved, adding to the good vibes.

By August, the YTD net outflow was just $6.7 billion. But a three-week stumble for Wall Street dashed hopes that an “all-in” moment on the flows side was imminent following the summer melt-up.

The net outflow from US equity funds for 2023 now stands at $13.4 billion.

Meanwhile, AAII sentiment has likewise turned more cautious. At 35.9%, this week’s “bullish” reading was the lowest since May 31.

More than 30% of individual investors were bearish, the most in more than three months.

Coming quickly back to fund flows, European equity funds bled $1.3 billion, the 23rd straight week of redemptions. The net outflow for developed market-focused stock funds is still stuck in negative territory for 2023.

Emerging market funds, on the other hand, took in another $3.7 billion, running the streak to half a dozen weeks.

Overall, EM funds have raked in $87.34 billion this year, accounting for all (and then some) of the overall inflow to stocks.

Investors continue to buy the dip in Chinese stock funds, which took in another $4.1 billion. Juxtapose that with a record-setting streak of A-share-selling through the links, which totaled nearly CNY50 billion over nine sessions through Thursday.