Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, April 17, 2013. U.S. stocks sank, erasing yesterday's rally, amid losses in industrial metals and disappointing results from Bank of America Corp.

By one measure, the shift to passive investing from active is slowing down.

With just one week left in 2019, Bank of America said Tuesday its clients have bought more stocks in individual companies this year than exchange-traded funds for the first time since 2008.

The bank's data showed its clients bought about $38 billion worth of single stocks in 2019, exceeding the $25 billion worth of ETFs they purchased. From 2008 to 2017, Bank of America's clients consistently sold individual stocks and piled into passive vehicles.