The National Association of Active Investment Managers (NAAIM) has an index which tracks the exposure of its members to US equity markets. Each week, members are asked to provide a number that represents their exposure to markets. A reading of -200 means they are leveraged short, -100 indicates fully short, 0 is neutral, 100% is fully invested, and 200% indicates leveraged long.  Two weeks ago, in our Bespoke Report, we highlighted the fact that the exposure index had moved to one of the highest levels in its 15-year history.  Now, just two weeks later, these same active managers have reigned in their exposure considerably as this week’s reading dropped from just under 100 to 53.1.

This week’s drop was the second-largest one week decline in the index’s history and just the 10th time that the index lost more than a third (33 points) in a single week.  The most recent occurrence was back in early March in the middle of the Covid crash, and every other prior period where the index saw a similar drop, the S&P 500 was also down every time by an average of 2.3%.  Therefore, it’s not much of a surprise to see the big drop this week given the big declines in the market.  But what about going forward?  Do big drops in the NAAIM Index mean a bounce back for markets or further declines?  Find out in this weekend’s Bespoke Report newsletter where we cover this much more in depth.  If you aren’t currently a client of any of Bespoke’s research services, make sure to sign up for a free trial today in order to unlock access to this week’s report.