Margin debt has fallen more than 30% from its October ’21 peak. That is a similar range to the 2020 contraction, during the pandemic, but far behind the +50% contractions seen during the Dotcom crash (2000-2002) and the global financial crisis (2007-2009).
The S&P fell 49% during the Dotcom crash and 57% during the GFC. The low point in June showed a 24% fall, from the January peak, followed by a 7.5% rally.
Conclusion
Plunging margin debt confirms a bear market, in line with the Fed’s plan to force deleveraging in order to shrink aggregate demand and curb inflation.
The current rally on the S&P 500 is typical of a reflexive rally in the middle of a bear market. We expect further contraction in margin debt as interest rates rise and liquidity tightens. Our target is a 50% contraction in margin debt, with a similar fall in the S&P 500, to 2400.
Acknowledgements
- Hat tip to Advisor Perspectives for the margin debt chart
- FINRA for the margin debt data
Colin Twiggs is a former investment banker with almost 40 years of experience in financial markets. He founded PVT Capital (AFSL number 546090), which provides income and growth strategies to wholesale clients.
Colin also co-founded Incredible Charts and writes the popular Patient Investor newsletter.
Using a top-down approach, Colin identifies macro trends in the global economy and then combines fundamental and technical analysis to evaluate opportunities in sectors that stand to benefit.
Focusing on interest rates and financial market liquidity as primary drivers of the economic cycle, he warned of the 2008/2009 and 2020 bear markets well ahead of actual events.