The market is currently divided: hedge funds continue to sell stocks, while retail investors are holding up the bull market.

Professional investors have always viewed the record-breaking market rally as an opportunity to take profits, while retail investors have taken on much of the support work in this latest stage of the three-year bull market. According to the latest client fund flow data from Bank of America, hedge funds and other institutional clients have been the largest net sellers of individual stocks and exchange-traded funds this year, having sold more than $67 billion worth of stocks in 2025. The Wall Street investment bank stated that retail investors have been the backbone of the market, consistently buying on dips since 2020, a behavior pattern that emerged during the market rebound following the pandemic. With the S&P 500 index hitting multiple all-time highs this year, this strategy has paid off handsomely. Retail investors' continued stable inflow of new funds during market pullbacks has led to their outperformance compared to many institutional investors who have remained cautious amidst uncertainties such as rate cuts and geopolitical conflicts (from trade wars to Gaza, Ukraine, and Iran issues). This tension will be the focus of this week, as many prominent institutional investors gather in New York on Thursday to attend the "Delivering Alpha" investor summit, giving the world a chance to hear how some of the most influential voices in the industry are navigating this volatile market. In the first week of November, concerns about overvaluation intensified, leading hedge funds and other large investors to make the largest net sales of tech stocks in two years. While professional fund managers were hesitant during the early pullbacks this year, retail investors repeatedly entered the market, helping sustain the rally in mega-cap tech stocks and more speculative sectors in the market. However, this pattern appears to be evolving. Bank of America pointed out that after the continued market rally, retail investors' enthusiasm is showing initial signs of fatigue.