Individual investors have cemented themselves as one of the most powerful forces in US equity markets, driving unprecedented inflows, shattering options trading records, and commanding a share of daily volume that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. Their share of daily US equity trading volume has roughly doubled over the past 15 years to approximately 36%, according to JP Morgan data.
The numbers behind the retail revolution
In a single month in late 2025, individual investors poured a net $40 billion into the stock market, a figure that JP Morgan flagged as unprecedented. Those inflows helped drive sharp stock rebounds and injected fresh momentum into an already volatile market. The buying was broader than the 2021 GameStop and AMC frenzy, touching large-cap technology stocks, meme favorites, and everything in between.
Options trading, long the domain of sophisticated institutional desks, has become retail’s playground. By May 2026, average daily options volume hit an all-time high of over 73 million contracts. The Magnificent Seven, the group of mega-cap tech names that have dominated market returns, attracted particular attention from individual investors.
Momentum over fundamentals
