Fear and Greed Index vs the AAII Sentiment Survey
The AAII survey asks investors how they feel; the Fear and Greed Index reads how they act. Stated
opinion versus measured behaviour.
AAII Survey
Retail investors · weekly
bearish
bullish
A weekly poll of retail outlook.
Fear and Greed Index
Whole market · sentiment
Fear
Greed
Reads the crowd’s mood across a whole
market.
The key difference: AAII asks people what they think; the index measures what the market does.
Source: CFGI
Stocks