Behind the broad, swift market slide of 2018 is an underlying new reality: Roughly 85% of all trading is on autopilot—controlled by machines, models, or passive investing formulas, creating an unprecedented trading herd that moves in unison and is blazingly fast.
The majority of trades come from machines, models, or passive investing formulas that move in unison and blazingly fast. This quarter’s sharp declines are symptoms of the modern market’s sensitivities, the same ones that drove gains through the first three-quarters of the year.