Press Releases

October 31, 2021 12:50 pm

Active Traders Say They Still Expect Year-End Stock Market Gains, According to PSS Survey

Respondents give government poor grades on investing policies.

OSLO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PSS today released new data showing that most active traders surveyed are still somewhat optimistic that the stock market will recoup recent losses before the end of the year. However, a majority of those surveyed believe the government is not doing enough to encourage investing.

The latest PSS Active Trader Sentiment Survey polled nearly 475 individual investors who trade frequently (at least 36 times per year) and asked them to grade elected government officials on their pursuit of policies that encourage investing. Very few respondents gave them high rankings:

• Only 13 percent of respondents gave the government a grade of “A” or “B”
• More than half (53 percent) gave the government a grade of “C” or “D”
• One-third (33 percent) gave the government a grade of “F”

Despite political skepticism, most respondents believe the stock market could rally before the end of the year. However, only 25 percent of traders describe themselves as having a bullish outlook, compared to 47 percent who said the same thing in May of this year.

Other key findings of the survey include:

• Traders are most bullish on the technology sector (42 percent), distantly followed by materials (17 percent) and consumer discretionary (11 percent).
• Only 10 percent say they are very confident their portfolio is properly hedged against risk.

“Despite disappointment in the government and its pursuit of investing policies, active traders still believe there are opportunities in the market,” said Kelli Keough, vice president of active trading at PSS.

Keough noted that the latest results of the PSS Survey of Investor Confidence, a separate survey which examines the views of more than 1,000 PSS retail investors each quarter, echoes these same sentiments. In that poll, 43 percent of active traders included in the sample say it’s a good time to invest in equities and 46 percent say they have a high level of confidence in their ability to make investment decisions.

“Active traders remain highly engaged, and whether the investing waters are calm or rough, our goal is to empower our clients to make the best trading decisions possible. We continue to enhance the tools and resources we offer clients to help them navigate the market,” added Keough.

Survey Methodology

Data from the PSS Active Trader Sentiment Surveywere derived from responses of 473 active traders collected in early October 2021 and analyzed by Directive Analytics. Data on total (N=473) have a margin of error of +/- 4.5% at the 95% confidence interval.
Online interviews with 1,033 PSS Investor Services clients were conducted on September 8-23 by global market research firm Synovate for the PSS Survey of Investor Confidence.

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