Retail Investor Statistics - Inflows Return to Record Highs

The Moscow Exchange has published September retail investor statistics. Inflow to Russian stocks accelerated to R64.8 bln ($850 mln), very close to the record highs seen in June> More than 600,000 new brokerage accounts were opened in September, which is an all-time high. The overall number of unique individual accounts has approached 7 mln. > Local mutual funds also continue to see inflow, to the tune of R15 bln in September. However, most of that amount went into FI funds, while the equity market saw around R5 bln of inflow through this channel.Retail flow statistics allows us to evaluate the supply-demand balance for the equity market. Retail investors brought $920 mln into the market in September. Meanwhile, companies and their shareholders sold during IPOs and SPOs $1.32 bln worth of stocks during the month. This means that foreign investors bought around $400 mln worth of Russian stocks. This conclusion may seem surprising given the worsening perception of geopolitical risks, a factor that always deter foreign investors, but most of the new supply in stocks was generated by two placements in Polymetal totaling $850 mln. Gold stocks are less sensitive to perceived geopolitical risks and have a secular driver of soaring gold prices.The data on the structure of the portfolio of retail investors reveals some interesting trends. Gazprom is no longer the most popular name for individuals and has been replaced by Sberbank. The weight of its common shares in the top 10 stocks held by retail investors increased by 4.7 pp, and the weight of the prefs increased by 1.0 pp. Most likely retail investors were buyers ahead of the dividend cut-off date. Meanwhile, Aeroflot disappeared from the top 10, having been replaced by Tatneft.