Despite persistent high inflation in the United States, investors' enthusiasm for the stock market has not significantly waned. According to data from the fund flow research institution EPFR, as of September 2026, U.S. equity funds have seen net inflows for 13 consecutive months, setting a new record for the longest consecutive period of inflows since the institution began tracking such data in 2000. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index has risen by about 14% this year and has repeatedly broken new historical highs, indicating that high inflation has not yet significantly diminished investors' appetite for risk.

Stock funds have seen net inflows for 13 consecutive months, setting a record over the past 25 years.

EPFR data shows that as of the end of September, U.S. equity funds have seen net capital inflows for 13 consecutive months, a duration that exceeds any previous period of capital inflow since the institution began tracking this data in 2000.

This trend indicates that, despite the ongoing inflationary pressures in the United States, investors are continuing to increase their allocation to stock assets, rather than choosing to withdraw from the stock market on a large scale due to rising prices.

The S&P 500 index rose by 14% within the year, and retail investors remain optimistic.

Since the beginning of 2026, the U.S. stock market has performed strongly overall. The S&P 500 index has repeatedly set new historical highs, and as of the time of this report, it has risen by approximately 14% for the year.

During this period, a large number of individual investors continued to be optimistic about the stock market and did not significantly reduce their enthusiasm for investing despite the persistent high inflation.

Stock funds continue to attract inflows of capital, which echoes the continuous record-high performance of major stock indices, reflecting that investors still have a strong risk appetite for the U.S. stock market.

However, the inflow of funds and rising stock prices do not mean that inflation has no impact on the stock market at all. At least judging from the market performance since this year, persistent high inflation has not stopped the rise of the U.S. stock market, nor has it reversed the trend of investors continuously increasing their holdings in stock funds.