Citadel Securities’ Scott Rubner Says Retail Investors Expected To Slow Stock Buying In September: Report

Citadel Securities’ head of equity and equity derivatives strategy, Scott Rubner, reportedly said that retail traders are expected to slow their fast-paced stock buying in September before restarting it later this year.

According to a Bloomberg News report, Citadel Securities’ data showed retail investors have maintained a strong buying trend, revealing net equity purchases in 16 of the past 18 weeks.  The data showed retail traders have consistently bought equity options for 16 consecutive weeks, marking the sixth-longest bullish streak since 2020.

Rubner noted that this surge is structural, not cyclical, and a reflection of consumer health and market engagement, not a “passing fad,” the report added.

According to data from Citadel Securities, going back to 2017, retail buying activity starts to slow down in August, after a strong June and July, Bloomberg noted, adding that September usually is the year’s low point for retail participation.

The report added that the data showed buying is then expected to restart in the fourth quarter. In recent months, the meme stock rally has gained prominence again, like during the pandemic, when the videogame retailer GameStop’s stock saw a sudden upswing and renewed interest from retail investors.

According to Citadel Securities data, around 71 million option contracts traded last Friday alone, with retail options activity hitting the 98th percentile, some 34% above its 12-month average, Bloomberg said.

Tesla, Nvidia, and UnitedHealth Group were the top picks for retail investors on a five-day rolling basis of net order flows, the report added, citing data from Interactive Brokers.

The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which mirrors the Nasdaq, declined 1.3% and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which mirrors the S&P 500 index, fell 0.58%. 

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