TD Ameritrade’s Investor Movement Index: IMX Shows a Steady Start to the Summer for Investors

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 June 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 June 2014 Investor Movement Index for the four weeks ending June 27, 2014, reveals:

• Reading: 5.67 (compared to 5.69 in May)
• Trend direction: Negative
• Trend length: 1 month
• Score relative to historic ranges: High

The IMX remained relatively flat month over month, as it declined 0.02 to end the June period at 5.67.

The IMX climbed to its highest level in March 2014, hitting 5.87, but has declined and trended sideways for the last few months. Volatility remained low in June while major U.S. equity indices including the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrials rose to new all-time highs. During the same period, the IMX remained at the high end of end of its bullish range as TD Ameritrade clients’ maintained high levels of market exposure in the face of the continued market rally.

“The individual investor continues to demonstrate high levels of participation in the face of this somewhat confusing low volume rally,” said Nicole Sherrod, managing director of the trader group, TD Ameritrade. “Our clients continued to use our tools and platforms which we believe help to level the playing field between what’s available to Wall Street and Main Street and bring clarity to the investing process.”

Apple’s (APPL) forward split during the June IMX period made it a popular trade, and many TD Ameritrade clients bought shares at the lower price point following the split. A rotation into yield was also a big theme in June. Clients were net buyers of some dividend-paying ETFs, as well as of some individual equities including Prospect Capital Corp (PSEC), AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ). As we have seen before, issuers that saw dips in price during June were also popular buys. Some of these included Delta Airlines (DAL), Lululemon (LULU), and Rite-Aid (RAD). Selling in the technology sector was broad, and was reflected in net selling of some familiar names such as Intel (INTC), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Microsoft (MSFT), and Facebook (FB). Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) were popular sells in the financial sector. Clients also took profits in stocks that saw a price increase during the month reflecting net selling in Tesla (TSLA), Netflix (NFLX), and Baidu (BIDU).

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 June 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
Millions of investors and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) have turned to TD Ameritrade’s (NYSE: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 39 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.

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