How retail investing behavior has shifted since 2015

While investing flows of men increased in November 2024 relative to women, they subsequently returned close to their 2024 average. Changes in economic optimism, potentially related to political outcomes, could explain the temporary gender shift. ^{The share of younger individuals investing rose slightly relative to older individuals in late 2024, but then declined through the early months of 2025, resuming a trend of gradual normalization to its pre-pandemic range. Housing affordability headwinds that disproportionately impact young renters could be playing a role reducing the share of under-40 investors since 2022. Demographic shifts in investing flows during the pandemic – driven in part by social media investment fads – were much larger than the modest month-to-month differentiation appearing in the ensuing years.}

Conclusion and implications

What the data show

Investing activity has risen notably over the past 10 years: the share of the population and the dollars transferred to investment accounts is several times the 2015 level. Strong growth since 2023 has reinforced the apparent durability of this trend, which continued through early 2025. Increases have been larger for lower-income individuals. Younger individuals are getting an earlier start to investing: the share of people aged 25 with investment accounts has risen 6-fold, to 37 percent as of 2024, relative to 2015. Men occasionally experience heightened investment flows relative to women, as occurred most recently in November 2024. 

Broader context

A range of factors have contributed to the increase in investing over the past 10 years. First, investment accounts have become increasingly accessible: investment minimums and trading costs have fallen. Second is the pandemic-era savings boom, which led to rapid growth in the number of people with investment accounts. Third is stock market performance. The stock market has more than doubled over the past decade, which has spurred trend-chasing behavior covered in prior Institute analysis.

More recently, the state of the housing market may be playing a role, as historic low levels of affordability make wealth accumulation in the form of homeownership less accessible for many. The housing market has long been a core asset for most households. However, fewer young individuals are becoming first-time homebuyers, while the investing population has moved sharply in the opposite direction.

What it means for policy and the economy

Shifts in how people are accumulating wealth merit attention from policymakers concerned with household financial health, the implications of financial stability, and wealth inequality. Expansion in investing of younger generations highlights the importance of financial education tailored to these new entrants in financial markets to support long-term outcomes for a larger population. In rising markets, a broader part of the population will face tax implications of capital gains, which may be a source of negative financial surprises around tax time if financial education doesn’t adapt. In market downturns, we’ll see a significant number of new investors facing losses—directly visible to them in real-time. New investors, or even seasoned ones, may not be adequately well equipped to manage their responses, suggesting potential shifting roles for financial advisors.

Last, this research suggests growing degree of attention being paid to financial markets across the population. People are more familiar with moving money across accounts on a month-to-month basis—including on their phones—where tools for monitoring investments mingle with other apps that distract or entertain. This could increase feedback between markets and household financial behavior, including changes in investing such as fad-chasing and spending behavior.