Retail Trading Remains Elevated, But Favorite Stock Shifts

We last updated our retail flows data in April, before the summer “slowdown.”  Since then, the S&P 500 has continued to rally (Chart 1, green line), now up over 20% year-to-date. As that happened, we’ve some notable shifts in sector and asset classes being traded by retail investors.

Stock buying pivoted from TSLA to NVDA

Looking at trading in company stocks, we see that retail moved into the Mag-7 and AI trade as early as last year, with strong net buying of TSLA. 

However, in 2024, retail investors have switched their favorite stock to Nvidia (NVDA), trading almost $4 billion of NVDA daily. They have also been net buyers of the advanced chip design company to the tune of nearly $13 billion.

Chart 1: Retail buying of NVDA has dominated single-stock flows as the market rally extends

These levels of single-stock concentration aren’t unusual

Retail often has a “favorite stock” that they trade more than other tickers. However, even then, their trading remains relatively diversified. For example:

  • This year, NVDA made up only 13.4% of all retail dollars traded and was the most popular stock (by value traded) for only 64% of days.
  • Back in 2020, Tesla (TSLA) was regularly the most popular trade, peaking at almost 30% of all value traded in February 2023.

In the nearly six years since the start of 2019, TSLA holds many “most-popular retail stock” records. It has spent 678 days (48% of the period) as the most traded stock by retail investors, averaging 8.6% of retail dollar volume for every day between January 2019 and today. 

Interestingly, AAPL is in second place for number of days as the most popular stock, although its last day it led retail trading came in September 2022.

Chart 2: Top retail stocks over the past five years

Top retail stocks over the past five years

Retail investors aren’t always net-buyers of company stocks. But in 2024, they have been, adding to total net buying of around $32 billion year-to-date.  Since June, as the promise of Fed rate cuts firmed, we can see there have been relatively few days where retail were not net buyers of companies (Chart 3, blue bars).

Retail still buying ETFs (almost every single day)

In contrast, we see retail investors are net-buyers of ETFs (almost) every single day (Chart 3, yellow bars). This has added to $120 billion in ETFs year-to-date. 

Chart 3: Retail buying remains strong across the board

Retail buying remains strong across the board

ETF buying in bonds

Importantly, with the prospect of rate cuts improving late in 2023, only to be delayed until recently, we’ve seen retail investors turn net buyers of broad maturities of bond ETFs. We’ve seen almost $26 billion of the ETF buying, or around 22% of all ETF buying, going into fixed income ETFs, adding duration to their holdings as short-term rates fall.

Chart 4: Retail Fixed Income ETP Buying at Highs since Start of Fed Rate Hiking Cycle

Retail Fixed Income ETP Buying at Highs since Start of Fed Rate Hiking Cycle

Retail trading remains above pre-Covid levels

Market-wide value traded remains elevated at around $600 billion per day (Chart 5, grey zone). However, part of the increase is now due to the market rallying. With higher prices it’s easy to trade more value.

To account for the market returns, we look at retail trading value ($) and volume (shares) as a proportion of the whole market.  The data also shows that trading levels of retail remain elevated compared to the levels before Covid, but not at 2020 highs. In fact:

  • Value traded, based on our method of identifying retail trades, remains around 6.5% of market-wide trading (green line), averaging $38 billion per day.
  • Retail is an even higher proportion of share volumes, recently touching 9% (blue line). That’s because retail tends to trade more in lower-priced stocks (adding to shares more than value traded).   

Interestingly, we see that value traded dipped back to pre-Covid levels (as a proportion of elevated value traded) in 2022 but has since recovered. Meanwhile, shares traded seems to have peaked with the meme stock craze of 2021 and has been in a slow general decline ever since.

Chart 5: Retail Activity Remains Elevated Relative to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Retail Activity Remains Elevated Relative to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Retail remains an important source of liquidity

Although data suggests many households have spent their Covid savings, we see that retail trading in stocks and ETFs market remains a material proportion to market.

In short, retail remains an important source of liquidity for many stocks and ETFs.  

Source link

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

Vietnam Coffee Market 2025 – Top Regions, Latest Technology,

According to the latest report by IMARC Group, titled “Vietnam Coffee Market Report by Product Type (Whole Bean, Ground Coffee, Instant Coffee), Distribution Channel (On-Trade, Off-Trade), and Region 2025-2033”, offers a comprehensive analysis of the industry, which comprises insights on the Vietnam Coffee Market. The report also includes competitor and regional analysis, and contemporary advancements

OnePlus Nord 5 review – GSMArena.com tests

Introduction and specs The OnePlus Nord 5 offers a handful of new upgrades and a completely revamped design, more aligned with the current design trends but still crafted tastefully. In fact, the new Nord 5 has an iPhone-esque vibe. Okay, maybe not in the sense of the iPhone Pros, but the vanilla iPhone. More importantly,

OnePlus Nord 5 and Nord CE5 make official debut

The Nord series has become a key contributor to the brand and is now entering its fifth generation with the Nord 5 and Nord CE5 . As expected, Nord 5 gets the more powerful chipset, nicer display and better cameras, while the CE5 offers the largest battery ever on a OnePlus phone at 7,100mAh. OnePlus

AI Pushes High-End Mobile From SoCs To Multi-Die

Advanced packaging is becoming a key differentiator for the high end of the mobile phone market, enabling higher performance, more flexibility, and faster time to market than systems on chip. Monolithic SoCs likely will remain the technology of choice for low-end and midrange mobile devices because of their form factor, proven record, and lower cost.

vivo Y04e surfaces in the Google Play Console, has some specs revealed

vivo launched the Y04 back in February, and it was released in March, and now it seems like the brand is working on a slight variation based upon it. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the vivo Y04e, now spotted in the Google Play Console, which means it’s coming very soon. It looks just like the Y04,

Kanawha County BOE begins discussion about new cell phone policy

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Board of Education has started its round of conversations surrounding a new cell phone policy within schools across the county. Governor Patrick Morrisey signed a bill into law in April that mandates county school boards to develop policies for the 2025-2026 school year to limit the use of electronic

Nothing Phone (3) in for review

We did a quick hands-on with the Nothing Phone (3) at its unveiling, but now we have the retail unit in the office and ready for review! So let’s unbox it! The Nothing Phone (3) ships with a USB cable, a SIM ejector tool, and a transparent case. The phone comes in black and white

Samsung unveils new security features built into One UI 8

Samsung today announced a new suite of security and privacy updates that will be available in One UI 8 based on Android 16. The company also very strongly hinted at the fact that the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7 will be the first handsets to launch running Android 16 with One UI 8 on

Xiaomi 16 grabs a certification on its way to launch

The Xiaomi 16 has been rumored to launch in China by the end of September, right after Qualcomm unveils the chipset that will be powering it. The phone has now received the EEC certification, ahead of its global launch. It’s unclear when that will take place – its predecessor was introduced to international markets this

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE to have a flagship display

Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S25 FE will have a flagship display feature, unlike its predecessor from last year. According to a new report out of Samsung’s home of South Korea, the company has decided to use a flexible OLED panel for the S25 FE. These are more expensive than rigid OLED panels, and thus are generally

Samsung Galaxy Watch8 and Watch8 Classic promo images leak

Samsung is holding its next Unpacked event on Wednesday, where it’s widely expected to unveil the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7, along with the Galaxy Watch8 and Watch8 Classic. Now, these two watches have been leaked in a couple of official-looking promo images. As you can see, they confirm the oft-rumored switch to a squircle

How To Avoid Watered Down Keurig Coffee

D3sign/Getty Images If you’re a true coffee snob (err, connoisseur), you might spend half your morning tinkering to get the right water temperature, grind, and bloom to achieve the perfect pour-over. If you can’t be bothered, like me, then you’re probably all about K-Cups instead. These handy little

Here’s how much Nothing’s CMF Watch Pro 3 is rumored to cost

Nothing’s more affordable sub-brand CMF is apparently readying a new smartwatch. This will be called CMF Watch Pro 3 and will obviously be the successor to the CMF Watch Pro 2, which made its debut last year. The CMF Watch Pro 3 is rumored to cost €99 in the Eurozone, as you can see in

TikTok is apparently developing a new app for the US market

TikTok is reportedly working on developing a separate app just for the US market, in order to comply with the country’s legislation requiring it to either sell its business in the US or face a ban. The new app is allegedly going to be released on September 5, and US TikTok users will have to

Realme 15 Pro render leaks

Realme started teasing the 15 and 15 Pro at the end of June, and today a purported render depicting the latter has been leaked. Interestingly, it kind of looks more similar to the Realme 14 than the 14 Pro it’s replacing, which had a circular camera island. Speaking of which, the 14 Pro arrived back

Tecno Spark 40 Pro+ unboxing and hands-on

We just received the Tecno Spark 40 Pro+ and that means we get to do an unboxing. The Spark 40 Pro+ comes with the full package – you get a nice case with MagSafe-esque magnets for MagSafe and Qi2 chargers, a USB-A to USB-C cable, a SIM tool, and a 45W charger.

An Updated Guide to Valencia, Spain’s Specialty-Coffee Scene

Known for its beaches and laid-back rhythm, Valencia has quietly emerged as a force in Spain’s coffee scene. After two years away, we’re back with more cafés worth visiting in the coastal city. BY ISABELLE MANIBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Featured photo by Chimo Garcia-Menacho de Vargas, courtesy of Valencia is Coffee Blending local charm with international

Google Store now prominently highlighting ‘Fi Wireless’

The Google Store in the US is now getting a prominent promotion for “Fi Wireless” alongside Pixel phones. “Fi Wireless” appears between “Phones” and “Earbuds” in the Google Store top bar (on desktop) or hamburger menu (on mobile). The actual “Pixel and Google Fi Wireless make a great pair” page has been around for some time.  

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x