The recent buoyancy in the stock market hasn’t won over mutual-fund buyers. August marked the 16th consecutive month in which investors pulled more cash out of U.S.-stock mutual funds than they put in.

The painful bear market of 2007-09 has left investors with a skewed view of U.S.-stock performance. In investor surveys conducted in early 2010, 2011 and 2012, at least 48% of respondents each year said the stock market had been down or flat in the preceding year. In fact, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was up strongly in 2009 and 2010 and eked out a 2.1% return (including dividends) in 2011.

source: Wall Street Journal