Stocks with Institutional Ownership performing worst

We recently broke the S&P 500 into deciles (50 stocks in each decile) based on a stock's institutional ownership. When then calculated the average year to date performance of each decile. As shown in the chart below, the decile of stocks with the highest institutional ownership is by far down the most. The two deciles of stocks with the least amount of institutional ownership are holding up the best year to date. Clearly, institutions are unwinding positions. This is probably due to a combination of increased bearishness, investor redemptions, and a decrease in the amount of leverage allowed.