Someone Is Reading This Market Wrong

Ross Givens
Ross Givens Ross Givens is a veteran trader with over 15 years of experi...
August 31, 2026 | 3 min read
A split-screen composition showing two contrasting figures: a confident suited professional aggressively pushing all their chess pieces forward on a market board, while an ordinary retail investor cautiously pulls their pieces back in retreat. The background features a dramatic upward-trending stock chart glowing in green, creating a tense visual irony between the rising market and the divided reactions. The lighting is sharp and cinematic, with warm gold tones on the professional's side and coo

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Hey, Ross here:

There’s a pretty big disagreement showing up in the market right now.

And this one isn’t between two strategists arguing on CNBC.

It’s showing up in what two very different groups of investors are actually doing.

Chart of the Day

someone-is-reading-this-market-wrong

This is the NAAIM Exposure Index.

It tracks how much exposure active investment managers have to U.S. stocks.

A reading of 100 means they’re essentially fully invested.

Anything above 100 means some managers are using leverage to get even more exposure.

The latest reading?

102.7.

That’s the highest level since July 2024.

So active managers aren’t exactly hiding in cash right now.

They’ve leaned hard into stocks.

Now compare that with individual investors:

someone-is-reading-this-market-wrong

The latest AAII survey shows 44.4% of individual investors are bearish.

Only 32.9% are bullish.

And this is now the sixth straight week with more bears than bulls.

That stretch included the S&P 500 pushing to fresh all-time highs.

So while professional managers have pushed their stock exposure above 100%…

Individual investors have spent weeks getting more skeptical.

That’s a pretty wide gap.

And there’s one reason I put more weight on one of these signals than the other.

I explain below.

Insight of the Day

I’d rather see the position than hear the opinion.

There’s nothing wrong with sentiment surveys.

I look at them too.

But telling someone you’re bearish doesn’t cost anything.

You can check a box saying stocks are headed lower and change your mind tomorrow.

Putting a portfolio behind that view is different.

An active manager running more than 100% equity exposure has made a real decision with real money.

That’s more than just talking – that’s conviction.

But I don’t want to just know how invested these large investors are.

I want to see where they’re actually putting capital…

Because that’s what will allow us to use their money for our profits.

And the good news is, when a big institution decides it wants a meaningful position in a stock, it can’t always slip in quietly.

There’s too much money involved.

They have to spread the buying out – which leaves tracks behind.

Tomorrow morning, I’ll reveal my strategy for pinpointing these “smart money tracks”…

Using my strategy that could have had you sitting on open gains like 521%… 387%… and 533% right now.

So keep an eye out for that in your inbox tomorrow morning.

In the meantime…

Check out the full details on the one stock Nvidia NEEDS – and that I’m sinking $50,000 into.

Customer Story of the Day

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Clear, simple and the most effective method I’ve come across. I’ve invested in training with other “gurus” who although they were good, they left out the most important part. … HOW TO FIND STOCKS.

Ross and his crew have completely hit it out of the park. With his method of entering and exiting my account is up 13% in a month.

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Signature

Ross Givens
Editor, Stock Surge Daily

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Ross Givens

Written by

Ross Givens Chief Market Strategist

Ross Givens is a veteran trader with over 15 years of experience and a former VP at a major Wall Street investment bank. Specializing in small-cap stocks and momentum-driven plays, Ross identifies high-probability setups before they hit the mainstream. As Lead Strategist at Traders Agency, he has guided hundreds of successful trades and developed multiple flagship publications.

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