TD Ameritrade IMX Down, But Clients Are Net Buyers

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. AMTD released its Investor Movement Index reading for October 2014.

The reading fell to 5.22 for October compared to 5.79 in September with a negative trend for the one-month period.

“The decline was not driven by net selling,” according to the firm’s press release, and “TD Ameritrade clients were net buyers overall."

“Equity market exposure measured by the IMX declined in October because client portfolios were less volatile relative to the S&P 500 than in previous periods, driving the IMX down.”

According to the company, the “IMX was sharply lower last month as volatility ruled the market during the October IMX period. Though still bullish, the 11 percent decline was the second largest drop since inception, with the IMX falling back to levels not seen since October 2013.”

The stocks being bought during the month included “dividend-paying oil producers, which have seen declines in their prices since July, including Transocean LTD RIG, BP Plc BP, and SeaDrill Ltd SDRL.

AT&T Inc. T and Ford Motor Company F were also dividend payers that saw price dips in the middle of the month and were net buys.

Apple Inc. AAPL and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA were popular buys and had positive returns for the October IMX period. Kinder Morgan Inc KMI, Tesla Motors Inc TSLA, and Advanced Micro Devices AMD were also bought,” according to the firm.