This story was originally published here.
Stocks continue to soar…
Since its lows in late March, the S&P 500 has gained roughly 40%. It's now darn close to hitting new all-time highs.
You might not realize it, but much of this move has been powered by “machine buying.” Specifically, hedge-fund quant and algorithm programs continue to drive market gains.
The good news is, these models continue to work in our favor. So we should expect the recent surge in stocks to continue.
Let me explain…
The market has a secret driver – and few investors even realize it exists. It's the computer-driven buys and sells that come from sophisticated money managers.
Some estimates place industry assets at $1 trillion. One area that I like to focus on is commodity trading advisors (“CTAs”). Wall Street brokerages estimate that this part of the industry has about $250 billion in assets.
But those assets can be anywhere from two times to 10 times levered… So $250 billion in assets can have market impact of anywhere from $500 billion to $2.5 trillion.
These quant and algorithmic hedge-fund models operate much differently than those of their competitors. Typically, their investing style is driven by the market hitting key trigger levels on the way up and down.
Let's look at the S&P 500 Index. When the market is rising, it will typically hit key levels – like the 50-, 100-, or 200-day moving averages (“DMAs”). These are simply momentum measures that smooth out volatility to show the short-, medium- and long-term trend.
The chart below shows these levels…
When an index breaks above one of those moving averages, it's usually a trigger level for these machine programs. The models tell them to buy more stock. And they don't just buy – they buy without trying to get a specific price. They keep buying until their order is complete.
Conversely, when an index closes below one of those moving averages, it tells the models to sell stock. And, much like the buy indicators, they don't have price limits on their orders.
There's more, though…
Editor's Note: Click here for the rest of the story.
The REAL reason why the rich are getting richer
If you want to understand the REAL reason why the rich are getting richer…
While everyone else is falling behind…
All you have to do is watch the first 10 minutes of this amazing video, produced by a multi-millionaire, from his corner office.
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I guarantee you've never seen these ideas discussed in this way before.
Watch at least the first 10 minutes of his video and you will think about what is happening in America in a very different way. And you could make a ton of money too, if you follow his recommendation.
