Monthly summary

More clients were net buyers of equities than net sellers during the October STAX period pushing the STAX score slightly higher to 48.37, a gain of 2.7%. Interestingly, on a dollar basis, however, clients continued to rotate out of individual equities and into ETFs, mutual funds, and fixed income securities, suggesting the trend toward diversification and de-risking continues, though not to the same degree as the previous month. The STAX score this period was also more tightly correlated with the S&P 500 than last period when we saw a major divergence between the two. This could indicate the shedding of the higher beta and higher volatility names—which was prevalent during the September STAX period—has subsided and given way to a neutral to slightly bullish tone this past month.