Individual Investors Pull Most Cash From US Stocks in Two Years

Individual investors who had been behind the stock market rally this year pulled more money from US equities in October than they have in any month over the past two years.

Retail traders sold nearly $16 billion in stocks last month, nearly twice what they unloaded in September, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. They dumped shares in nearly every sector, although they increased their exposure to real estate, which is the second worst performer in the S&P 500 Index this year with an 8.3% decline.

Cumulative Capital Flows

The selloff reveals fading enthusiasm from day traders, who had been chasing the upside in the market’s unexpected rally to start the year. While the S&P 500 is up 13% this year, it’s lost 5% since the start of August as investors come to grips with the Fed keeping interest rates higher-for-longer while geopolitical risks are mounting.