The pandemic is the top factor influencing active traders' strategies for the rest of this year, according to Charles Schwab's biannual survey of traders who make 36 equity trades or more per year.
It ranks above inflation, Federal Reserve policy and U.S.-China relations in the survey results, released Friday.
One-third of active traders said they have already changed their strategy with the rise of the delta variant. Half of those who have not yet changed course said they may alter their tactics in coming months as the pandemic's next phase evolves.
Traders said they are employing a mix of strategies to shore up their portfolios against the delta variant. Forty-four percent of those who already made changes have increased overall equity exposure, 37% have increased their exposure to cash and 34% have increased their overall fixed income exposure.
Thirty-six percent of traders who have yet to change their strategies because of delta have increased cash exposure, 30% have decreased overall equity exposure and 27% have invested in more domestic stocks.
Logica Research conducted the survey from July 28 to Aug. 4 among 500 active traders 18 to 75 who live in the U.S. and made 36 or more equity trades per year.
Deeper Research, but Not on Social Media
Nearly all traders in the survey said they intend to trade in the same way as they have been in the coming months, or more so. They are investing both their time and their money.
Forty-five percent of active traders reported that they are conducting more research before placing trades than they did before March 2020, when pandemic-related market volatility shook the market. On average, they spend seven hours researching and more than five hours pursuing trading education each week.
Fifty-eight percent said they look to online news articles and commentary, 50% dip into research reports available through their trading firm or elsewhere, 41% listen to business broadcast news outlets and 38% avail themselves of brokerage firm educational tools and resources.
