There’s an interesting trend in the panelists’ perception of risk. While most panelists disagree that they’re taking higher than normal risks, BofA points out that fewer panelists had disagreed at a time when Lehman Brothers – a prestigious and historic investment management firm – had gone under in 2008. Given the expectation of a recession, the high cash levels and low expectations on long-term bond yields, the underlying message is that this perception might be flawed.

It bears remembering that fund managers cannot unilaterally change their portfolios’ asset mix; they’re expected to – at least broadly – build strategies around their clients’ expectations. However, the relationship between manager and client is a two-way street: when the former gets more bearish on an asset class, subsequent interactions with clients will enable them to form the change in asset mix for their portfolios to be more in line with their expectations.

As BofA’s strategists revealed in a note after the release of the survey’s results to the bank’s clients, “Everyone is bearish but no one has sold”, adding that for every $100 of inflows since January 2021, just $2 have flowed out from tech stocks and $3 exited from equities overall. The strategists also warn that “flows are starting to catch up with sentiment”.

Given that holdings in “cash” indicates a preparedness to generate profits in the shortest possible time and the fact that long-term holdings in equities generally causes a lower tax effect than short-term holdings, it’s very possible that major institutions are looking to sell off a portion of their holdings. Meanwhile, other sources report that retail investors (also known as “individual investors”) have continually bought into U.S. stocks.