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Retail investors aren't entirely giving up on AI trade, but they appear more cautious

Cnbc · · 870 words · By Deena Zaidi
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What to know about Retail investors aren't entirely giving up on AI trade, but they appear more cautious

Retail investors aren't giving up on the artificial intelligence trade.

Claims checked 11
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage
Left25%
Center75%
Right0%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Retail investors aren't giving up on the artificial intelligence trade.

Why it matters

But they are getting selective and adding downside protection as markets head into the fall.

Common ground

Investors are using put options and inverse ETFs to hedge risk while still positioning for upside in individual technology stocks, according to data from Vanda Research and Charles Schwab.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/19/retail-investors-stick-with-ai-trade-but-appear-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 3
info Single Source 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 2
schedule Pending 1
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Claim 1: “The index rose to 59.80 in July from 59.12 in June.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources explicitly state the STAX index rose to 59.80 in July from 59.12 in June.
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web search NEUTRAL — Schwab clients were net buyers, using late-month dips to add exposure across individual stocks, ETFs, and options Key Takeaways: The Schwab Trading Activity Index™ (STAX) increased to 59.80 in July, u…
https://pressroom.aboutschwab.com/press-releases/press-relea…
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web search NEUTRAL — Schwab Trading Activity Index™ (STAX). Monthly summary: STAX vs. S&P 500®.A proprietary, behavior-based index designed to indicate the sentiment of retail investors. Get notified by email when the lat…
https://www.schwab.com/investment-research/stax/view-schwab-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Instantly edit your Wooting keyboard profiles and RGB from the browser.
https://wootility.io/
info
Claim 2: “Schwab clients remained net buyers, with the brokerage firm seeing more than two buyers for every seller in July.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One source (IBTimes) explicitly mentions that Schwab clients were net buyers with more than two buyers for every seller in July. Other Schwab results are general marketing or index descriptions.
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web search NEUTRAL — Open a Schwab account online today to start saving, trading or investing. We offer brokerage, IRA, checking and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios online.Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. is a brokerage firm and …
https://www.schwab.com/open-an-account
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web search NEUTRAL — Look no further than this video! In this video, we'll share with you the six best Charles Schwab Index Funds available to invest in. Charlie Schwab is a well-known investment advisor and his funds hav…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go5gl9evEW4
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web search NEUTRAL — Charlie Schwab always lived life to the fullest, and by his own standards. While Carnegie was a puritan who fired any executive who drank too much, gambled, or chased women, Schwab was of a different …
https://americanbusinesshistory.org/forgotten-business-giant…
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Claim 3: “Investors are using put options and inverse ETFs to hedge risk while still positioning for upside in individual technology stocks, according to data from Vanda Research and Charles Schwab.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources confirm that retail investors are using put options and inverse ETFs to hedge AI/tech risks while remaining bullish, citing data from Vanda Research and Charles Schwab.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The foreign policy of the second Trump administration is an example of a realist "America First" foreign policy. It has been described as imperialist, expansionist, and interventionist in respect to …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_policy_of_the_second_T…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — S&P Dow Jones Indices updates the components of stock market indices periodically, typically in response to acquisitions, corporate spin-offs, or upon quarterly rebalancing. The following is a list of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_components_of_the_S…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The S&P SmallCap 600 (S&P 600) stock market index, maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices, comprises the common stocks of 600 small-cap, mostly American, companies. Although called the "S&P 600", the ind…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_S&P_600_companies
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “Schwab investors continued to buy in July despite a choppy market backdrop, lifting the Schwab Trading Activity Index, known as STAX, for a third straight month and bringing it to its highest level since January 2022.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the STAX index rose for a third straight month in July and reached a multi-year high (highest in 54 months/since Jan 2022).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jane Street Capital is an American electronic market making company headquartered in Manhattan, New York City. It is one of the largest market making firms in the United States along with Virtu and Ci…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Street_Capital
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A stock trader or equity trader or share trader, also called a stock investor, is a person or company involved in trading equity securities and attempting to profit from the purchase and sale of those…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_trader
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation was a stockbroker that offered an electronic trading platform for the trade of financial assets. The company was founded in 1975 as First Omaha Securities. In 2006, i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TD_Ameritrade
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 5: “Joe Mazzola, Schwab's head trading and derivatives strategist, told CNBC the firm saw a modest pickup in put buying on the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) during the week of Aug. 7.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim in the search results.
help
Claim 6: “Notably, Nvidia, which was regularly among the top five names in STAX, was absent from those rankings in July.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim in the search results.
schedule
Claim 7: “Mazzola said Schwab investors were continuing to sell puts on individual AI-linked stocks such as Nvidia, Micron and Sandisk”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 8: “Vanda's data shows that since mid-April, buying of both bullish and bearish tech ETFs, including leveraged funds, has declined.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result explicitly confirms that since mid-April, trading in both bullish and bearish tech ETFs has fallen. Other results are too general to provide corroboration.
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web search NEUTRAL — Since mid-April, trading in bullish tech ETFs has fallen about 50%, while activity in bearish ETFs is down roughly 35%, pointing to a broad pullback in overall long exposure. Charles Schwab data sugge…
https://bingx.com/en/flash-news/post/vanda-data-shows-retail…
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web search NEUTRAL — Leveraged funds’ long positions in Nasdaq-100 futures have fallen to roughly $18 billion, their lowest level since mid-2025. The divergence between short and long exposure has pushed net positioning t…
https://www.benzinga.com/etfs/specialty-etfs/26/09/61750446/…
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web search NEUTRAL — With leveraged ETFs, there are both bullish and bearish opportunities to ponder. Because the strength of EM can often be tied to their local currency, upside will hinge on what the greenback does. Rig…
https://www.etftrends.com/leveraged-inverse-content-hub/bull…
info
Claim 9: “Bullish activity fell sharply, down about 50%, Meng pointed out, compared with a roughly 35% decline for bearish ETFs.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result confirms the specific percentages: bullish tech ETF activity down about 50% and bearish down roughly 35%. No other independent sources corroborate these specific figures.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Chaikin Analytics (formerly Chaikin Stock Research) is a platform for stock trading ideas. Chaikin Analytics was established in September 2009 by Marc Chaikin. The centerpiece of Chaikin Analytics is …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaikin_Analytics
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a table of notable American exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. As of 2020, the number of exchange-traded funds worldwide was over 7,600, representing about 7.74 trillion U.S. dollars in assets. T…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_exchange-trad…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Russell 1000 is a stock market index maintained by FTSE Russell. It contains approximately 1,000 common stocks issued by companies with large or medium market capitalizations. It is weighted by fr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Russell_1000_companies
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 10: “Put buying went up to 110% from about 26% of net cash buying, even as outright stock purchases have declined.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence consists of irrelevant results about water resources in Murfreesboro and general definitions of 'put'. No data regarding the percentage of put buying versus cash buying was found.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Put or PUT may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Put
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — "Put On" is a song by American rapper Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West, from Jeezy's third studio album The Recession. The song was released as the album's lead single on June 3, 2008. The song receiv…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Put_On
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (or throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the shot—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_put
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 11: “Since April, Meng said put buying of the top 12 retail-favored stocks in 2026 has almost doubled versus the first quarter, despite an overall reduction in cash purchases of stocks.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results about the band 'Kings of Leon' and unrelated 2026 political events. No financial data regarding put buying for retail-favored stocks was found in the evidence.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Parliamentary elections were held in Hungary on 12 April 2026 to elect all 199 members of the National Assembly. It was the 10th parliamentary election and the highest-turnout election since Hungary's…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Hungarian_parliamentary_e…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel have been at war with Iran and its regional allies. Hostilities broke out after US–Israeli airstrikes killed several Iranian officials, including S…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran_war
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of American films that are scheduled for release in 2026. Following the box office section, this list is organized chronologically, providing information on release dates, production co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_2026
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.