TD Ameritrade's Investor Movement Index: IMX Rebounds after Hitting Lowest Level since January 2013
TD Ameritrade's Investor Movement Index: IMX Rebounds after Hitting Lowest Level since January 2013
Following a drop in July, investors dialed up their equity market exposure in August as the S&P 500 fell
OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- TD Ameritrade, Inc. ("TD Ameritrade"), a broker-dealer subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NYS: AMTD) , is today revealing the Investor Movement IndexSM reading for August 2013. 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 August 2013 Investor Movement Index for the four weeks ending August 30, 2013, reveals:
Reading: 5.16 (compared to 4.87 in July)
Trend direction: Positive
Trend length: 1 month
Score relative to historic ranges: High
August's IMX reading marks a positive change in direction after a negative dip in July. Clients increased their equity market exposure in August, continuing a pattern of advancing exposure on market dips and rolling back exposure when equity markets were trading at record levels. Clients seemed to anticipate a pullback, as they were net sellers of most market sectors in July even as the market continued to rise. When the S&P 500 fell almost five percent from a record high early in the month, TD Ameritrade clients treated the dip as a buying opportunity and ramped up their equity market exposure. This was reflected in the IMX as it rose above June 2013 levels. Like the last couple months, clients were net sellers of fixed income mutual funds and fixed income ETFs.
"It's always encouraging to see our clients managing their equity market exposure. With an almost five percent drop in the S&P 500 in August, clients were poised to dial up their equity exposure," said Nicole Sherrod, managing director of TD Ameritrade's Trader Group. "Clients were net buyers of some basic materials companies including BP (BP), Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) and Potash Corp (POT) that declined in August and were net sellers of some financial and technology names as their stock prices rose."
As investors look to manage their portfolio risk, TD Ameritrade launched "fast" beta weighting within the thinkorswim platform to complement the traditional beta weighting calculation. Beta weighting is a mathematical approach to measuring the historic behavior of a symbol or portfolio in relation to the broader market. A direct output of the Investor Movement Index and unique to TD Ameritrade, fast beta weighting tunes the traditional calculation to use a more focused time frame, assigning greater weight to recent price movements than older price movements. Clients can analyze their portfolios with both traditional beta and the new fast beta feature, according to their preference. For more information please visit http://tlc.thinkorswim.com/center/release/rel-08-24-2013.html#FastBeta.
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 two months. 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 2013, 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.
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.
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About TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation
Millions of investors and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) have turned to TD Ameritrade's (NYS: AMTD) technology, people and education to help make investing and trading easier to understand and do. Online or over the phone. In a branch or with an independent RIA. First-timer or sophisticated trader. Our clients want to take control, and we help them decide how — bringing Wall Street to Main Street for more than 37 years. An official sponsor of the 2014 and 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, TD 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)/NFA (www.nfa.futures.org)
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TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation
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Beth Evegan, 201-369-5930
Communications & Public Affairs
beth.evegan@tdameritrade.com
@TDAmeritradePR
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