History on Wall Street: is retail money taking over?
If you ever felt you were just "small fish" in an ocean of sharks – new data for Q3 2025 proves otherwise.
We are witnessing a revolution.
And this revolution is none other than you.
Retail Investors, meaning you, are not just participating in the game, they are changing the rules:
Note the astonishing figures: In the last quarter, retail investors accounted for 20% of the total trading volume in the US stock market.
This is the second highest figure in history, with only the "Meme Stocks" craze of early 2021 slightly surpassing it.
For comparison, before 2020 the average was only 15%.
A shift in the balance of power?
Consider the next incredible figure: with a 20% share, the general public surpassed some of the large institutional investors.
We trade more than long-only funds and more than traditional hedge funds, some of which accounted for only about 15% in the last quarter.
Are we witnessing the decline of the old giants?
This is not just a surge by the public, but a retreat of the old "smart money". The activity of traditional funds plummeted to half the levels seen in 2015.
This is one of the most dramatic structural changes in the stock market in recent decades.
To understand the significance of this moment, consider the following figure: if all funds are combined (hedge, long-term investments, and quantitative/algo funds), they account for only 31%.
The gap is narrowing, and power is shifting to private hands.
The conclusion?
The retail investor is no longer a "hitchhiker" in the market – they are the engine.