The Stench of Fear

Ross Givens
Ross Givens Ross Givens is a veteran trader with over 15 years of experi...
March 27, 2026 | 2 min read
The Stench of Fear

The S&P 500 is at new all-time highs.

The Dow is at new all-time highs.

The Nasdaq is at new all-time highs.

Even the Equal-Weight S&P 500 is at new all-time highs – showing that it’s not just the mega-cap tech stocks.

And yet…

Individual investors are more scared than ever.

Chart of the Day

You can see the results of this week’s AAII (American Association of Individual Investors) weekly sentiment survey above.

Nearly half of them are bearish – the highest percentage in over four months. Less than a third are bullish.

The last time they were this bearish was back in early May, and the market kept rocketing up.

And now, with new all-time highs across almost every index

Not to mention a streak of net new highs…

They’re deeply bearish again.

Maybe it’s because of the weakening labor market.

Or maybe because they feel the market has risen “too much” since the April lows and is now “overvalued”.

I’m not going to argue about any so-called “overvaluation” here.

I’m a trader – not Warren Buffett.

The fact is that the market’s trend – as seen in the price action – is 100% bullish.

I’m not going to fight the trend. I’m going to use it in my favor.

Plus, as the data shows, every time the S&P 500 has surged over 30% in five months, subsequent returns have been overwhelmingly positive.

Source: @SubuTrade via X

Anyway, I’m not upset that individual investors are so bearish.

Because when retail gets scared – it always exposes opportunity.

I explain more below.

P.S. Don’t miss this newsletter because it’s buried in your inbox. Text the word “trade” to 87858 and get it straight to your mobile instead.

Insight of the Day

More bearish individual inventors = more juice for the future rally

The biggest drivers of market movements are always the institutional investors…

But individual investors, as a whole, do have the power to throw some “juice” on any rally.

That means, when the market keeps going higher…

And these bearish investors on the sidelines FOMO and jump back in…

It will power the bull rally even further.

You want to position yourself before that happens.

The corporate insiders certainly are.

And later this morning at 11 a.m. Eastern…

I’m going LIVE to show you exactly how to follow the right kind of insider trades…

So you can target gains like 520% on REZI, 1090% on CDLX and 1,787% on MDTR.

Remember, not all insider activity is created equal.

Some don’t mean anything at all…

While others could lead you to some of the biggest gains of all.

After my live briefing, you’ll know exactly which kinds of insider trades to target – and which to avoid.

So click here to guarantee your seat if you haven’t already…

And I’ll see you in just a bit at 11 a.m. ET. Don’t be late.

P.S. If you’re planning to attend on a mobile device, make sure you download the presentation app now so you don’t miss anything when it starts. See you there.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/goto/id1465614785
Android: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=goto&c=apps

Customer Story of the Day

"Ross and his staff at Traders Agency are great. 

Not only sharing profitable stock trades in real time, but also explaining everything in a common language and making me feel like part of a smart, thriving community. 

I highly recommend."

Ross Givens
Editor, Stock Surge Daily

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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