TD Ameritrade Investor Movement Index: IMX Soars in August with Largest Ever Single Month Increase
September 06 2016 - 12:30PM
Business Wire
Clients were net sellers and positioned
themselves for more exposure amid volatility lows
TD Ameritrade, Inc. (“TD Ameritrade”), a broker-dealer
subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: AMTD) is
today releasing the Investor Movement Index® reading for August
2016. The Investor Movement Index, or the IMXSM, is a proprietary,
behavior-based index created by TD Ameritrade that aggregates Main
Street investor positions and activity to measure what investors
are actually doing and how they are positioned in the markets.
This Smart News Release features multimedia.
View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160906006056/en/
TD Ameritrade's IMX vs. S&P 500
(Credit: TD Ameritrade)
The August 2016 Investor Movement Index for the four weeks
ending August 26, 2016, reveals:
- Reading: 5.26 (compared to 4.69 in
July)
- Trend direction: Positive
- Trend length: 1 month
- Score relative to historic ranges:
Moderately High
The IMX rose 12.15 percent – its largest ever single month
increase – to 5.26 in August as retail investors positioned their
accounts for more exposure as the volatility of the S&P 500
reached its lowest point since 2014. Because the IMX measures
portfolio volatility relative to overall market volatility, higher
relative volatility in widely held names like Apple Inc. (AAPL) and
Facebook Inc. (FB) had a compounding effect on the rising IMX
score.
“Clients were net sellers in August, scouting opportunities to
take some profits after the market rebounded to all time highs,”
said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist for TD
Ameritrade. “The slowness of the market in combination with lower
overall volatility led our clients to names they know. The overall
message at the end of the month from Reserve Chair Yellen also led
investors to names they know in that she said an improving labor
market and a strengthening economy might warrant another increase
to the Fed’s key interest rate, but that remains to be seen,
especially when you add in the presidential election component in
just a couple months.”
Despite being net sellers overall in August, investors were net
buyers of some popular names. Facebook Inc. (FB) set a new all-time
high for the second month in a row, and continued to be a net buy
for TD Ameritrade clients. Clients appeared to see some opportunity
in dividend paying issuers who have seen recent declines as well.
Both Ford Motor Company (F), which has been a popular net buy for
the last few months, and Pfizer Inc. (PFE) were net bought in
client accounts. Ford’s yield is greater than 4%, while Pfizer
yields nearly 3.5%. Earnings announcements also continued to gather
some attention into August. In the technology sector, Nvidia Corp.
(NVDA) was a net buy up to and following its earnings report.
Additional popular names bought included Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY)
and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC).
Being net sellers this past month, TD Ameritrade clients found
attractive exit prices in several widely held positions. Bank of
America Corp. (BAC) was net sold as the company’s share price was
up nearly 9% at the close of the August IMX period. Alibaba Group
Holdings Ltd. (BABA), which reported earnings in August and saw
gains following the announcement, was net sold as well. Microsoft
Corp. (MSFT) set a new all-time high in August and Yahoo Inc.
(YHOO) reached a year-to-date high. Both were net sold in TD
Ameritrade client accounts. Additional popular names sold included
Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL), Citigroup Inc. (C), and Caterpillar
Inc. (CAT).
During the August IMX period the major equity market indices saw
mixed results, with the NASDAQ gaining 1.48% and the Russell 2000
adding 1.1%. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were
essentially flat with both declining about two-tenths of a percent.
Crude oil prices increased in August, following a decline in July,
and briefly touched $49 a barrel before declining to close out the
month. Treasury yields remained largely unchanged during the
month.
About the IMX
The IMX value is calculated based on a complex proprietary
formula. Each month, TD Ameritrade pulls a sample from its client
base of 6 million funded accounts that includes all accounts that
completed a trade in the past month. The holdings and positions of
this statistically significant sample are evaluated to calculate
individual scores, and the median of those scores represents the
monthly IMX.
For more information on the Investor Movement Index, including
historical IMX data going back to December 2010, to view the full
report from August 2016, or to sign up for future IMX news alerts,
please visit www.tdameritrade.com/IMX. Additionally, TD Ameritrade
clients can chart the IMX using the symbol $IMX in either the
thinkorswim® or TD Ameritrade Mobile Trader platforms.
Inclusion of specific security names in this commentary does not
constitute a recommendation from TD Ameritrade to buy, sell, or
hold.
Past performance of a security, strategy or index is no
guarantee of future results or investment success.
Historical data should not be used alone when making investment
decisions. Please consult other sources of information and consider
your individual financial position and goals before making an
independent investment decision.
The IMX is not a tradable index. The IMX should not be used as
an indicator or predictor of future client trading volume or
financial performance for TD Ameritrade.
For the latest TD Ameritrade news and information, follow the
Company on Twitter, @TDAmeritradePR.
Source: TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation
About TD Ameritrade Holding CorporationMillions of
investors and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs)
have turned to TD Ameritrade’s (Nasdaq: AMTD)
technology, people and education to help make
investing and trading easier to understand and do. Online or over
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Ameritrade has time and again been recognized as a
leader in investment services. Please visit TD
Ameritrade’s newsroom or www.amtd.com for more
information.
Brokerage services provided by TD Ameritrade, Inc., member
FINRA (www.FINRA.org)/SIPC (www.SIPC.org)
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160906006056/en/
TD Ameritrade Holding CorporationFor Media:Beth Evegan,
859-331-2391Communications & Public
Affairsbeth.evegan@tdameritrade.com@TDAmeritradePRorFor
Investors:Jeff Goeser, 402-597-8464Investor Relations &
Financejeffrey.goeser@tdameritrade.com
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