August AAII Asset Allocation Survey: Stock Allocations Remain High
Summary
- Stocks and Stock Funds: 71.2%, up 0.1 percentage points.
- Bonds and Bond Funds: 15.2%, up 0.2 percentage points.
- Cash: 13.7%, down 0.2 percentage points.
Individual investors’ asset allocations changed minimally last month according to the August AAII Asset Allocation Survey. Equity allocations remained at or above 70% for the sixth time this year while cash allocations declined further.
Stock and stock fund allocations increased by 0.1 percentage points to 71.2%. This is the 15th consecutive month AAII members’ exposure to equities is above the historical average of 61.0%.
Bond and bond fund allocations rose by 0.2 percentage points to 15.2%. Even with the increase, fixed-income exposure stayed below its historical average of 16.0% for the sixth consecutive month.
Cash allocations decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 13.7%. Cash allocations were last lower in January 2018 (13.0%). August is the 16th consecutive month that cash allocations are below their historical average of 23.0%.
Equity allocations remain at an unusually high level for the sixth consecutive month (more than one standard deviation above the historical average). The major equity indexes continued to set new record highs in August while interest rates remained low. Optimism in the weekly AAII Sentiment Survey ended August at a seven-week high.
August AAII Asset Allocation results:
- Stocks and Stock Funds: 71.2%, up 0.1 percentage points
- Bonds and Bond Funds: 15.2%, up 0.2 percentage points
- Cash: 13.7%, down 0.2 percentage points
August AAII Asset Allocation details:
- Stocks: 32.3%, unchanged
- Stocks Funds: 38.9%, up 0.1 percentage points
- Bonds: 2.4%, down 0.2 percentage points
- Bond Funds: 12.7%, up 0.3 percentage points
Historical Averages:
- Stocks/Stock Funds: 61.0%
- Bonds/Bond Funds: 16.0%
- Cash: 23.0%
The AAII Asset Allocation Survey has been conducted monthly since November 1987 and asks AAII members what percentage of their portfolios are allocated to stocks, stock funds, bonds, bond funds and cash. The survey and its results are available online at: https://www.aaii.com/investor-surveys.
If you want to become an effective manager of your own assets and achieve your financial goals, consider a risk-free 30-day Trial AAII Membership.
Analyst's Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.