Investors had second thoughts about stocks last week, with sentiment dropping across the board. This week’s Investors Intelligence survey shows a healthy return to optimism as bears dropped to their lowest level in over a year and the bull-bear spread moved back above its August high.
When the Fed raised rates to 4.50% in early February, the market was expecting that any additional tightening this Spring would be taken back (and then some) and that by the end of the year the Fed Funds Rate would be at 4.25%. Now, the market is pricing in a year-end Fed Funds Rate of at least 5.25%. Over the course of a month, market expectations for rates have shifted higher by a full percentage point.
The NAAIM exposure index surpassed its August high last month and has been on either side of its April high over the past two weeks. With price action cooling, active investment managers may regret their eagerness to increase equity exposure.
Last week was the first time in 45 weeks that the weekly AAII survey showed more bulls than bears. The most recent stretch of pessimism did not eclipse the Financial Crisis in terms of intensity (the bull-bear spread bottomed last year at -43%, versus -51% in March 2009). But it did set the record for persistence.
Bulls on the Investors Intelligence survey continued to climb while bears fell for the fifth week in a row. The bull-bear spread has now decisively cleared its August high as investors move to embrace the stock market rally.
The January AAII asset allocation survey shows household equity exposure rising for the third month in a row and climbing to its highest level since May.
The Investors Intelligence Bull-Bear Spread was unchanged last week, remaining just beneath the level that in the past has signaled full embrace of equities and the opportunity for sustained stock market strength.
The Investors Intelligence measure of advisory services sentiment shows Bulls rising to their highest level in over a year. Bears have not (yet) undercut their summer lows and the Bull-Bear spread is still just below its August peak.
Over the course of 2022, the two-year (8-quarter) return for the aggregate household portfolio dropped from one of the highest levels in over 40 years to underwater for the first time in over a decade.
Why It Matters: Sentiment soured in 2022 but investors largely stuck with their equity exposure. They choose not to meaningfully increase their exposure to bonds or cash (and commodity funds actually experienced outflows last year). Now investors are reviewing portfolios that didn’t just experience a bad year, but are actually down over the past two years. This is unfamiliar territory for a generation of investors who are not used to sustained weakness and who see US large-cap equities as the only game in town.
Seems like almost everyone has a 2023 earnings estimate for the S&P 500. The thinking seems to be that if you are going to make up a year-end guess at price you should come up with one for earnings as well. That’s not a game I want to play.
Household equity exposure (as a percentage of total liquid assets) fell again in the third quarter dropping from 56% to 54%. It was at its highest level ever (62%) coming into this year and remains high by historical standards (90th percentile).
The S&P 500 continues to make lower highs as new lows have approached, but not broken below, new highs. This breadth signal occurred as the S&P 500 was peaking in January. It re-emerged near the March and August highs and appears to be doing so again.
