Investor sentiment among individual investors has reached a 14-year high, with 46% believing there is less than a 10% chance of a stock market crash in the next six months. Institutional investors have also shown strong confidence, with their allocation to U.S. stocks hitting a record 36%, while cash allocation has fallen to its lowest level since data tracking began in 2001. However, U.S. equity funds experienced substantial outflows, totaling $50.2 billion for the week ending December 18, marking the largest outflow since September 2009, primarily from large-cap funds which saw $20.9 billion in outflows. Concurrently, total money market fund assets rose by $54.7 billion to reach $6.81 trillion, reflecting a shift in investor strategy amid market volatility. Despite this, the average retail investor is up only 9.8% year-to-date, significantly lagging behind the S&P 500, which has gained 26.6% this year, indicating a trend of underperformance among retail investors compared to the broader market.