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TD Ameritrade's Investor Movement Index: Registers Second Largest Month-to-Month Gain Since December 2012
[July 06, 2015]

TD Ameritrade's Investor Movement Index: Registers Second Largest Month-to-Month Gain Since December 2012


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 2015. 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/20150706005139/en/

The June 2015 Investor Movement Index for the four weeks ending June 26, 2015, reveals:

  • Reading: 5.32 (compared to 4.91 in May)
  • Trend direction: Positive
  • Trend length: 2 months
  • Score relative to historic ranges: Moderately High

Equity market exposure in TD Ameritrade client accounts rose month-over-month as the IMX increased to 5.32 in June.

TD Ameritrade clients were net buyers of equities for a second month in a row, which helped the IMX register its second largest month-to-month increase since tracking began in December 2012. Similar to the activity in May, increases in volatility for some of the most widely held names and relatively low volatility in the S&P 500 helped to boost the IMX reading.

The major indices saw a broad mix of returns over the June IMX period. The Russell 2000 gained 2.67% during the month and set a new all-time high during the fourth week. The NASDAQ Composite began the period near its previous high and also set a new all-time high during the fourth week, ending the period 0.21% higher. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, both of which set new highs last month, ended the June period slightly lower than where they began, off 0.28% and 0.36% respectively. Even with the S&P ending lower for the month, volatility in the index as measured by the VIX continued to be range bound and briefly traded below 12 near the end of the period. The 10-Year and 30-Year Treasury rate indexes continued to climb higher, with the 30-Year index setting a new year-to-date high to end the period. Also of note was the June Federal Reserve meeting and its projection materials, commonly referred to as the 'dot plot', showing a tighter consensus about where rates will end the year.

"The first half of the year the S&P remained in one of the tightest percentage ranges as related to movement in history," said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist, TD Ameritrade. "However clients continued to find potential opportunities in the equity markets. In doing so they have selectively dialed up their exposure over the last two months."

Some popular names saw price declines in the June IMX period and were popular net buys. Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Twitter (News - Alert) Inc. (TWTR), both of which contined their downward trends into June, were net buys as traders seemed to treat the lower prices as an opportunity to build positions. Oil producer Chevron (News - Alert) Corp. (CVX) was a net buy as it crossed through a previous low set at in March 2015, around the time when the price of crude oil began stabilize after as sharp decline. Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK), also and energy producer in the basic materials sector, was a net buy as it reached a new 52-week low in June. Dividend payers Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) and Procter and Gamble Co. (PG) have been under pressure this year; both have a dividend yield of over 3% and were net buys as well.



Many of the names that were popular sells in May continued to be popular net sells in June. General Electric Co. (GE) and Sirius XM Holdings (SIRI), which have been recently range bound, were both net sells in May and again in June. Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Citigroup Inc. (C) were also popular net sells in May and June following steady increases in their share prices since March. Facebook (News - Alert) Inc. (FB) was issued a higher price target by two investment firms and was also a popular net sell. AOL Inc. (AOL) was a net sell as it announced the closing of a deal to be acquired by Verizon (News - Alert) Communications Inc. (VZ).

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 2015, 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 (News - Alert): 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.

Brokerage services provided by TDĀ Ameritrade, Inc., member FINRA (www.FINRA.org)/SIPC (www.SIPC.org)


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