OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TD Ameritrade, Inc. (“TD Ameritrade”), a broker-dealer subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NYSE: AMTD), is today releasing the Investor Movement Index® reading for May 2014. 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.
The May 2014 Investor Movement Index for the four weeks ending May 30, 2014, reveals:
- Reading: 5.69 (compared to 5.67 in April)
- Trend direction: Positive
- Trend length: 1 month
- Score relative to historic ranges: High
Following April’s IMX report, which showed a decline for the first time in seven months, the IMX remained relatively unchanged in May. The IMX stayed at the high end of its historical range, but was comparatively flat month over month, advancing by 0.02 in May to 5.69. The IMX remained stable month over month as both implied and historical volatility remained low. The S&P 500 was range bound for most of the period, but eventually rose to a new all-time high and closed the period 3% higher than where it started. Although the S&P climbed back to record levels, small-cap names (measured by the Russell 2000) have been more volatile. The Russell 2000 traded lower and approached the 10% correction range intra month. TD Ameritrade clients dialed back positions in names that recently popped and were picking up stocks that had been under pressure, which included some previous momentum names.
“Clients have seen price dips as a buying opportunity while taking profits in popular names that saw pops, like Apple (AAPL) and Cisco (CSCO),” said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist, TD Ameritrade. “With no major changes, it seems clients are working the market to set up positions and take profits but still with an overall bullish sentiment.”
TD Ameritrade clients were net buyers of many names that saw drops in price during the May IMX period. In the Technology sector Twitter (TWTR) and Yahoo (YHOO) both saw dips and were net buys. Net buys in the Services sector included Whole Foods (WFM) and Amazon (AMZN). Clients were net buyers of the Financial sector overall with Bank of America (BAC) and Prospect Capital (PSEC) the most popular purchases in the group.
Apple (AAPL) ended May over 20% above its April 2014 low and was the largest net sell as clients seemed to be lightening positions and taking profits. Clients were net sellers of Coca Cola (KO) as the stock was range bound in May after spiking higher in April 2014. Additional securities that saw pops in their price during the period and were popular net sells: Cisco (CSCO), Intel (INTC) and JC Penney (JCP). Several Services sector issuers were also net sold including Sirius (SIRI), McDonalds (MCD) and American Airlines (AAL).
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 May 2014, 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 Corporation
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