2023 Retail Investor Report (2024)

August 2023

They’re not leaving — so what’s next?

2023 Retail Investor Report (1)

In 2020, a wave of retail investors entered the stock market. In the last two years, approximately 30 million new retail investors opened brokerage accounts in the U.S.1 By 2021, retail investors comprised 25% of total equities trading volume, nearly double the percentage reported a decade prior.2

And they’ve stuck around. In February 2023, retail investors across platforms set a new all-time high for weekly inflows, with $1.5 billion dollars pouring into the market in a single week.3

Participation in the public markets remains high; more significantly, it has evolved. Public’s latest Retail Investing Report dives into what’s new and what’s next.

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Public

Public is an investing platform that allows everyone to invest in stocks, treasuries, ETFs, crypto, and alternative assets—all in one place. We help people be better investors with access to custom company metrics, live shows about the markets, and insights from a community of millions of investors, creators, and analysts.

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2023 Retail Investor Report (2)

  1. Just how mighty are active retail traders?The Economist (Aug-21)
  2. The Rise of Retail TradersBNY Mellon (Nov-21)
  3. Retail Army Bets Record $1.5 Billion on Stocks at Fastest Pace Ever, JPMorgan SaysBloomberg (Jul-23)

© Copyright 2023 Public Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

All investments involve the risk of loss and the past performance of a security or a financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. You should consult your legal, tax, or financial advisors before making any financial decisions. This material is not intended as a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to purchase or sell securities, open a brokerage account, or engage in any investment strategy.

Product offerings and availability vary based on jurisdiction.

Stocks and ETFs.
Brokerage services for US-listed, registered securities are offered to self-directed customers by Open to the Public Investing, Inc. (“Open to the Public Investing”), a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA & SIPC. Additional information about your broker can be found by clicking here. Open to Public Investing is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Public Holdings, Inc. (“Public Holdings”). This is not an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities or open a brokerage account in any jurisdiction where Open to the Public Investing is not registered. Securities products offered by Open to the Public Investing are not FDIC insured. Apex Clearing Corporation, our clearing firm, has additional insurance coverage in excess of the regular SIPC limits. Additional information can be found here.

Alternative Assets.
Brokerage services for alternative assets available on Public are offered by Dalmore Group, LLC (“Dalmore”), member of FINRA & SIPC. “Alternative assets,” as the term is used at Public, are equity securities that have been issued pursuant to Regulation A of the Securities Act of 1933 (as amended) (“Regulation A”). This content is not investment advice. These investments are speculative, involve substantial risks (including illiquidity and loss of principal), and are not FDIC or SIPC insured. Alternative Assets purchased on the Public platform are not held in an Open to the Public Investing brokerage account and are self-custodied by the purchaser. The issuers of these securities may be an affiliate of Public, and Public (or an affiliate) may earn fees when you purchase or sell Alternative Assets. For more information on risks and conflicts of interest, see these disclosures.
An affiliate of Public may be “testing the waters” and considering making an offering of securities under Tier 2 of Regulation A. No money or other consideration is being solicited and, if sent in response, will not be accepted. No offer to buy securities can be accepted, and no part of the purchase price can be received, until an offering statement filed with the SEC has been qualified by the SEC. Any such offer may be withdrawn or revoked, without obligation or commitment of any kind, at any time before notice of acceptance given after the date of qualification by the SEC or as stated in the offering materials relating to an investment opportunity, as applicable. An indication of interest to purchase securities involves no obligation or commitment of any kind.

Crypto.
Cryptocurrency execution and custody services are provided by Bakkt Crypto Solutions, LLC (NMLS ID 1828849) through a software licensing agreement between Bakkt Crypto Solutions, LLC (“Bakkt”) and Public Crypto, LLC. Bakkt is not a registered broker-dealer or a member of SIPC or FINRA. Cryptocurrencies are not securities and are not FDIC or SIPC insured. Bakkt Crypto Solutions, LLC is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved before trading: Legal Disclosures, Bakkt Crypto Solutions, LLC.

Treasuries.
U.S. Treasuries (“T-Bill”) investing services on the Public Platform are offered by Jiko Securities, Inc. (“JSI”), a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA & SIPC. See JSI’s FINRA BrokerCheck and Form CRS for further information. When you enable T-Bill investing on the Public platform, you open a separate brokerage account with JSI (the “Treasury Account”).

JSI uses funds from your Treasury Account to purchase T-bills in increments of $100 “par value” (the T-bill’s value at maturity). T-bills are purchased at a discount to the par value and the T-bill’s yield represents the difference in price between the “par value” and the “discount price.” Aggregate funds in your Treasury Account in excess of the T-bill purchases will remain in your Treasury Account as cash. The value of T-bills fluctuate and investors may receive more or less than their original investments if sold prior to maturity. T-bills are subject to price change and availability – yield is subject to change. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Investments in T-bills involve a variety of risks, including credit risk, interest rate risk, and liquidity risk. As a general rule, the price of a T-bills moves inversely to changes in interest rates. Although T-bills are considered safer than many other financial instruments, you could lose all or a part of your investment. Jiko U.S. Treasuries Risk Disclosures for further details.

Investments in T-bills: Not FDIC Insured; No Bank Guarantee; May Lose Value.

Banking services and bank accounts are offered by Jiko Bank, a division of Mid-Central National Bank.
JSI and Jiko Bank are not affiliated with Public Holdings, Inc. (“Public”) or any of its subsidiaries. None of these entities provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. You should consult your legal, tax, or financial advisors before making any financial decisions. This material is not intended as a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to purchase or sell securities, open a brokerage account, or engage in any investment strategy.

Commission-free trading of stocks and ETFs refers to $0 commissions for Open to the Public Investing self-directed individual cash brokerage accounts that trade the U.S.-listed, registered securities electronically during the Regular Trading Hours. Keep in mind that other fees such as regulatory fees, Premium subscription fees, commissions on trades during extended trading hours, wire transfer fees, and paper statement fees may apply to your brokerage account. You can trade Treasury securities and Regulation A securities on the Public platform. These brokerage services are offered by broker-dealers other than Public Investing, who may pay us a referral fee or other compensation. Please see Open to the Public Investing’s Fee Schedule to learn more.

Fractional shares are illiquid outside of Public and not transferable. For a complete explanation of conditions, restrictions and limitations associated with fractional shares, see our Fractional Share Disclosure to learn more.

All investments involve the risk of loss and the past performance of a security or a financial product does not guarantee future results or returns.

2023 Retail Investor Report (2024)

FAQs

What is the investor forecast for 2023? ›

The forecasts of 23 analysts from leading investment firms for year-end 2023 ranged from as low as 3,650 (down 5%) to as high as 4,750 (up 24%). The average forecast was for the S&P 500 to end the year at 4,080 (up 6%).

Is unbiased financial advice to retail investors sufficient answers from a large field study? ›

Overall, our results imply that the mere availability of unbiased financial advice is a necessary but not sufficient condition for benefiting retail investors.

What are the average returns of retail investors? ›

3-10% for the average retail investor with a portfolio of stocks, bonds, ETF, mutual funds, and the like. On the higher side if more exposed to equities (and you or your advisor knows what they're doing), lower side if more exposed to bonds/fixed income.

How many customers does public com have? ›

Latest valuation: $1.2 billion. Bona fides: User base has exploded to three million from less than one million at the end of 2020.

Will 2023 be a good year for investors? ›

There are typically two outcomes as to what happens after an awful year like 2022—you get a bounce-back recovery, or the bad times continue. Luckily, 2023 was the former not the latter. Expected returns were higher and actual returns followed suit.

What is the average return on investments in 2023? ›

2023 returns: “Big 7” average 105.0%, S&P 500 26.3%, S&P 500 excluding “Big 7” 14.7%. 2-year cumulative returns: “Big 7” average 6.6%, S&P 500 3.4%, S&P 500 excluding “Big 7” 1.8%.

Are financial advisors biased? ›

Behavioral finance biases can affect your portfolio in many ways, from advisors avoiding or underestimating risk to making decisions based on a “hunch.” Below are six types of biases that may affect your advisor's choices—and your portfolio.

Are institutional investors more powerful than retail investors? ›

Because they pool money, institutional investors have much more money to invest than all but the wealthiest individual investors. They use that money to buy large blocks of securities, and their massive size means that institutional investors' trades can have a powerful impact on the market.

Do financial experts make better investment decisions? ›

We find no evidence that financial experts make better investment decisions than peers: they do not outperform, do not diversify their risks better, and do not exhibit lower behavioral biases.

What stock pays the highest dividend? ›

20 high-dividend stocks
CompanyDividend Yield
CVR Energy Inc (CVI)8.97%
Eagle Bancorp Inc (MD) (EGBN)8.85%
Evolution Petroleum Corporation (EPM)8.82%
Altria Group Inc. (MO)8.71%
17 more rows
5 days ago

What is the safest investment with the highest return? ›

These seven low-risk but potentially high-return investment options can get the job done:
  • Money market funds.
  • Dividend stocks.
  • Bank certificates of deposit.
  • Annuities.
  • Bond funds.
  • High-yield savings accounts.
  • 60/40 mix of stocks and bonds.
May 13, 2024

How much money do I need to invest to make $3,000 a month? ›

Imagine you wish to amass $3000 monthly from your investments, amounting to $36,000 annually. If you park your funds in a savings account offering a 2% annual interest rate, you'd need to inject roughly $1.8 million into the account.

How trustworthy is public com? ›

Public is a safe investing app, and your account is SIPC-insured. This means that each customer's securities investment is protected up to $500,000. Cash amounts up to $250,000 are also covered.

What company owns public com? ›

Who owns Public Holdings Inc? Public Holdings, Inc., is an American financial services company that was founded in 2019 by Jannick Malling and Leif Abraham, who are also the co-CEOs. The company is headquartered in New York City and develops a fractional mobile and web investing platform called Public.com.

What bank does public com use? ›

If this is the case, there are other ways to fund your Public account. At Public, we use the nation's largest bank connection provider, Plaid.

What will the stock market return in 2023? ›

The U.S. stock market performed extremely well in 2023 and for the 5-year period ended December 31, 2023. Stock market performance in 2023 was a reflection of the relatively strong U.S. economy. The S&P 500 index increased 24.31 percent, more than twice the long-run average return on U.S. large-cap stocks.

What are the financial predictions for 2023? ›

Advanced economies are expected to slow from 2.6 percent in 2022 to 1.5 percent in 2023 and 1.4 percent in 2024 as policy tightening starts to bite. Emerging market and developing economies are projected to have a modest decline in growth from 4.1 percent in 2022 to 4.0 percent in both 2023 and 2024.

Is 2023 a good year to buy stocks? ›

Stocks took a strong turn upward in 2023, sparked by the slowing pace of rate hikes, declining inflation and a resilient job market: a trio of good omens that could portend the elusive but highly desired "soft landing" for the U.S. economy.

What is the stock market prediction for the next 5 years? ›

The updated Dow Jones price prediction for the next 5 years is for the index to trade around 45,000 points. Long Forecast predicts Dow Jones to trade above 40,000 points in the second half of 2024 and and advance up to 44,000 points by the end of the year. This is the most bullish Dow Jones forecast for 2024.

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