Retail Investors

Topic

Individual, non-professional investors. Cathie Wood advocates for greater access for retail investors to private markets, arguing that current restrictions are 'unamerican'.


First Mentioned

10/15/2025, 3:53:53 AM

Last Updated

10/15/2025, 3:56:41 AM

Research Retrieved

10/15/2025, 3:56:41 AM

Summary

Retail investors are non-professional, individual investors who allocate their own capital, typically through brokerage firms, to purchase assets like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and real estate, often for personal financial goals. They are distinguished from institutional investors by their smaller transaction sizes and personal account management. Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, is a prominent advocate for retail investors, arguing that existing 'Accredited Investor Rules' unfairly restrict their access to high-growth private markets. She believes that disruptive innovation, driven by technologies like AI and blockchain, will create significant opportunities that retail investors should be able to participate in, and has observed an increased influence of retail investors in capital markets, partly due to technological advancements and pandemic-era conditions.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Market Impact

    Increased influence over capital markets, contributing to market liquidity

  • Investment Goals

    Personal goals like retirement, wealth building, kids' college fund

  • Transaction Size

    Typically smaller transactions compared to institutional investors

  • Type of Investor

    Non-professional, individual

  • Behavioral Biases

    Stronger bias towards momentum, focus on thematics, insensitivity to high valuations

  • Investment Account

    Own accounts, typically through traditional or online brokerage firms

  • Investment Vehicles

    Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, real estate, infrastructure, currency, commodity, token, derivatives

  • Access to Private Markets

    Restricted by Accredited Investor Rules

Timeline
  • Retail investor influence over capital markets increased significantly due to technological advances lowering barriers to entry, coupled with stimulus checks and increased free time during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Source: web_search_results)

    2020-2021

Investor

An investor is a person or entity that allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of investments include equity, debt, securities, real estate, infrastructure, currency, commodity, token, derivatives such as put and call options, futures, forwards, etc. This definition makes no distinction between the investors in the primary and secondary markets. That is, someone who provides a business with capital and someone who buys a stock are both investors. An investor who owns stock is a shareholder.

Web Search Results
  • What is a Retail Investor? Definition, Pros, and Cons | SoFi

    A retail investor is a non-professional, individual investor who invests money in their own accounts, typically through traditional or online brokerage firms. They may invest as an active investor, allocating the money and making trades on their own, or they may hire a professional, such as a financial planner or advisor, to oversee the investment decision-making process. [...] A retail investor is an individual investor who buys and sells securities for their personal account rather than for a client, organization, or business. Retail investors may include individuals who invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, and other securities through a brokerage account or other financial institution. ### How do retail investors invest? [...] Here’s a closer look at what a retail investor is, and the pros and cons of investing on your own. Key Points • Retail investors are non-professional individuals who invest money in their own accounts through brokerage firms. • Retail investors may manage their own accounts, or hire a professional to guide their investment decisions. • Retail investors typically make smaller transactions compared to institutional investors.

  • Introduction to Public Companies and Retail Investors - InvestorHub

    ## Definition of Retail Investors Retail investors, on the other hand, are individuals or small institutional investors who participate in the stock market by buying and selling securities. They are typically considered the "everyday investors" and make up a significant portion of the investing population. Unlike institutional investors who manage large pools of capital on behalf of others, retail investors invest their own money in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other financial instruments. [...] Retail investors, also known as individual investors or small institutional investors, play a significant role in the stock market. They are the backbone of the market, representing a large portion of the investing population. Unlike institutional investors, such as pension funds or hedge funds, retail investors invest their own money in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other financial instruments. [...] Retail investors, as individual or small institutional investors, play a crucial role in the stock market. They contribute to market liquidity, influence stock prices, and provide valuable feedback to public companies. However, retail investors also face challenges such as limited access to information, market volatility, and behavioral biases. By enhancing financial literacy, leveraging technology, and adopting sound investment strategies, retail investors can overcome these challenges and

  • Retail Investor Behavior and Flows — Market Impacts

    # Retail Investor Behavior and Flows Thomas Shipp | Head of Equity Research Last Updated: Additional content provided by Tucker Beale, Analyst, Research. Retail investors are generally defined as non-institutional market participants who trade their own personal accounts rather than making trades as part of a larger financial institution. Retail investor influence over capital markets has increased as their collective trading makes up an increasing percentage of total volume. [...] Retail investors as a group have unique attributes that should be considered when assessing their impact on equity markets. While all market participants suffer from behavioral biases, retail investors in aggregate may exhibit a stronger bias towards momentum. If a stock is up, retail traders view the stock as “good” and interest increases, whereas if it is down, it’s perceived as “bad” and interest sours. As an example, this was on full display during the meme stock rallies where rising stock [...] Retail investors now make up a larger percentage of total trading volumes. Technological advances that lowered barriers to entry, paired with stimulus checks and an abundance of free time during the pandemic, resulted in a sustainable increase in retail trading. Retail investors have a sensitivity to momentum, a focus on thematics, and an insensitivity to high valuations. The larger retail trading volumes become, the more these characteristics will be seen in broad equity markets, in our view.

  • Retail vs. Institutional Investors: What's the Difference?

    Think of a retail investor as the regular individual investor. And by regular, we mean non-professionals who typically invest in things like stocks, bonds and ETFs through an investment advisory or brokerage firm. Retail investors put up their own money towards personal goals like retirement, wealth building, kids’ college fund, etc. If you have an IRA, 401(k)") or individual investment account, you’re probably a retail investor. [...] We’ve already touched on this a little bit. Retail investors buy and sell in smaller quantities and tend to trade less frequently than institutional investors. While retail investors may trade a few shares at a time, institutional investors could trade up to 10,000 or more shares in their transactions! [...] If you’re just getting started as a retail investor, it’s important to get a handle on the fundamentals of investing. Retail investors often buy and sell securities in smaller amounts (and trade less frequently) than institutional investors. And that makes sense if you think about it. Since institutional investors invest on behalf of others, they have access to large pools of money, allowing them to trade in bulk. Back to Top ## What is an institutional investor?

  • Retail investors are running head first into this topsy-turvy ...

    The chart has 1 X axis displaying Time. Range: 2025-04-02 09:30:00 to 2025-04-09 15:55:00. The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Range: 10 to 70. End of interactive chart. Retail investors have stood firm despite the turbulence. Mark Malek, investing chief at Siebert Financial, said his firm’s team that handles retail traders saw strong demand to buy on Wednesday, even as Trump’s announcement of pared-back import taxes catapulted the market higher. [...] Skip Navigation Make It select USA INTL Livestream Livestream Watchlist SIGN IN Create free account Retail investors are running head first into this topsy-turvy market Livestream Markets Business Investing Tech Politics Video Watchlist Investing Club PRO Livestream Investing # Retail investors are running head first into this topsy-turvy market Alex Harring@ WATCH LIVE Share Key Points [...] Similarly, JPMorgan found retail traders bought around $11 billion in equities over the past week ended Wednesday. That’s about 2.5 times higher than the average seen over the past year, the firm said. ## What retail investors want