(Bloomberg) — The US stock market had a great 2023 with the S&P 500 Index gaining 24% and the Nasdaq 100 Index having its best year since 1999, but mom-and-pop investors may have missed out on the excitement.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Retail investors fled US equities last year, according Bank of America Corp. client flow data. Meanwhile, hedge funds appear to have been the smart money, plowing cash into stocks as the market continued to soar.
In all, BofA clients were net buyers in 2023, funneling $66 billion into US shares, strategists led by Jill Carey Hall said Wednesday in note to clients. Purchases were most pronounced among corporations and hedge funds, which posted their first net inflows to the asset class in four years. On the other hand, institutional and private clients were net sellers, with the latter group pulling the most money from US stocks since 2019.
Despite losses across recent sessions, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100…
