Trading activity continued to drop at major U.S. online brokers even as client assets rose in April.
Interactive Brokers Group Inc. reported 812,000 daily average revenue trades, or DARTs, in April, down for the second straight month from 1.02 million in February. Likewise, TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.'s DARTs fell to 775,000 in April, from 1.01 million in February.
The decline in the trading activity was not entirely unexpected. After DARTs significantly spiked in late 2017, TD Ameritrade President and CEO Timothy Hockey said the surge in trading tied to blockchain- and cannabis-related stocks would taper off eventually, according to an interview with Reuters in January.
Meanwhile, total client assets increased month over month at the five online brokers included in the analysis.

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