      In addition to institutional buying and selling of specific equities,institutional program trading, and Day Trading, the retail investor alsoplays a large part in the overall behavior of the equity markets. Someinvestors self-direct their portfolios, while others pool their equity intomutual funds, index funds, and various other forms of "managed" investmentmediums. The net flow of money into and out of managed funds will influencethe direction of the overall market over time. During the past decade,there has been a net inflow of capital into the U.S. equity markets becauseof the strength of the U.S. economy and other variables. This has createdbuying pressure for stocks that has consistently outstripped supply, thuscausing prices to trend upward over the long term.