So I came across a fascinating report recently.
It was from TD Ameritrade, and it broke down the net buys and sells of TD Ameritrade’s Singapore customers in November 2022.
Now for the record, I get that there are some flaws in data such as this.
But it’s still very interesting to take a look at what stocks other Singapore investors are buying or selling.
Top 5 Stocks bought and sold by Singapore Investors (November 2022)
For ease of reading, I have reorganised some parts of the original report below.
Text in Italics are from the TD Ameritrade report (emphasis in bold from me), and I share my takeaways at the end of this article.
From TD Ameritrade:
TD Ameritrade Singapore clients reduced exposure during the November period, but unlike the overall TD Ameritrade client population they were net buyers of equities.
Top Stocks Bought by Singapore Investors (November 2022)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM)
Both TD Ameritrade Singapore clients and the overall TD Ameritrade client population bought Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) as the semiconductor giant surged over 30% during the period following strong October sales growth.
META (Facebook)
Meta Platforms (META), parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced major layoffs as a cost-cutting measure amid recent struggles, and TD Ameritrade Singapore clients as well as the overall TD Ameritrade client population increased exposure in the name as it rallied over 12% during the period.
General Trend
Despite being net buyers of equities overall, TD Ameritrade Singapore clients were only net buyers of four of the S&P sectors: Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology, and Real Estate.
Top Stocks sold by Singapore Investors (November 2022)
NVIDIA (NVDA)
NVIDIA (NVDA) surged over 17% and reported earnings during the November period, which both the TD Ameritrade Singapore client population and the overall TD Ameritrade client population apparently saw as an opportunity to sell into the chip maker’s recent strength.
Alibaba (BABA)
TD Ameritrade Singapore clients bought into the recent strength in Alibaba (BABA), increasing exposure as the Chinese e-commerce giant reported sales growth of 3%, slightly lower than street estimates, and finished up over 18% during the period.
Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) continued their recent run of strength as both names moved higher during the November period, but TD Ameritrade Singapore clients saw this an opportunity to reduce exposure in the financial giants and were net sellers of both.
General Trends – Stocks bought and sold by Singapore Investors
Popular names bought by both populations include:
- Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
- Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (TSM)
- Apple Inc. (AAPL)
- Meta Platforms Inc. (META)
- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Popular names sold by both populations include:
- NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA)
- Netflix Inc. (NFLX)
- American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL)
- Shopify Inc. (SHOP)
- Boeing Co. (BA)
TD Ameritrade’s Data is noisy – take it with a pinch of salt
Again for the record, I get that there are flaws with data such as this.
For example, this only tracks data for people who actually bought / sold stocks in November.
Many long term investors may simply be holding onto their positions, and such investors would not have been reflected in this data.
This means there is a bit of survivorship bias – in that the data above reflects more the actions of short term traders, and less of the long term investors.
And of course, this data is only for TD Ameritrade customers, which may not be indicative of the broader Singapore investing population.
So again, take the above with a healthy pinch of salt.
2 key takeaways
That being said – 2 key takeaways from the data from me.
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1. Tech remains very popular
The Top 10 stocks bought / sold are:
Popular names bought by both populations include:
- Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
- Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (TSM)
- Apple Inc. (AAPL)
- Meta Platforms Inc. (META)
- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Popular names sold by both populations include:
- NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA)
- Netflix Inc. (NFLX)
- American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL)
- Shopify Inc. (SHOP)
- Boeing Co. (BA)
Of the 10 most popular stocks – 8 of them are tech stocks.
You can say what you want about the collapse of tech stocks.
And on the possibility of moving into a new paradigm where tech stocks no longer have the same secular tailwinds they did the past decade.
But for now at least – Investors still love buying / selling tech stocks.
2. Long duration is still a very popular trade – Tech and Real Estate
From TD Ameritrade:
Despite being net buyers of equities overall, TD Ameritrade Singapore clients were only net buyers of four of the S&P sectors: Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology, and Real Estate.
Communications, Consumer Discretionary, IT, Real Estate.
These are all long duration trades.
Or in plain English, they benefit from low interest rates.
Just like the above, you can argue that if we are moving into a new paradigm of higher inflation and higher interest rates, long duration trades may not do so well.
And timing wise will be crucial as well, as the Feds are still on their crusade to stamp out inflation (via higher interest rates)
Whatever the case though, TD Ameritrade’s Singapore customers are avid buyers of long duration trades.
Whether that proves to be the right or wrong call – time will tell.
TD Ameritrade’s full report
In any case, I’ve extracted the full report from TD Ameritrade below for those who are keen to read it.
What other takeaways did you get from the data?
Share your views below!
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