📊 Data shows: This week, U.S. tech stocks wiped out as much as $1.9 trillion in market value. The Nasdaq 100 plunged 5.5% in a single week its biggest weekly drop in nearly 18 months. 📉 The contrast is stark: just the week before, retail investors went on a buying spree of AI and chip stocks, pouring in $9.1 billion in one week their largest weekly purchase in nearly four months. 🔥 #TechStocks# #Nasdaq100# #AIBubble# #RetailInvestors# #oncoin#

Retail investors are starting to head into money market funds (safety). Usually this means either two things: 1. Markets continue to explode higher to punish those that sold 2. Markets do pull-back, but it's not a crash; crashes only happen when people least expect it (too many people are prepared)

Retail investors are extremely bullish: Allocation to stocks among retail investors in the AAII survey rose +0.7 percentage points in September, to 71.8%, the highest level since December 2017. This also marks its 2nd-highest reading since July 2000. Since April, this figure has risen +3.3 percentage points, its largest 5-month increase since October 2025. To put this into perspective, average retail exposure to stocks since 1987 is 71.8%. Meanwhile, allocation to cash fell -1.0 percentage point last month to 13.3%, its lowest since December 2017. At the same time, allocation to bonds rose +0.3 percentage points, to 14.9%, remaining below its average of 15.9% since 1987. Appetite for risk among retail investors is through the roof.

Retail investors are rushing into Treasury ETFs: Retail investors bought +$61 million of the 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF, $TLT, on Wednesday, their largest daily purchase in at least 12 months. This follows +$59 million on Tuesday and +$50 million on Monday, bringing the 3-day total to +$170 million, retail's largest 3-day purchase since at least September 2025. Retail daily purchases of $TLT have now exceeded +$20 million for 6 consecutive trading sessions ending Wednesday. Before this week, retail demand for $TLT had not surpassed +$50 million in any single trading day in 2026. Meanwhile, $TLT fell -1.9% this week, bringing the year-to-date decline to -8.0%. The fund is now down -55.0% from its 2020 peak, its largest drawdown on record. Retail investors are trying to buy the dip in Treasuries.

Retail investors are poised to pile back into US stocks this month after a sharp cooldown in September, Citadel Securities’ head of equity and equity derivatives strategy Scott Rubner said.

Retail investors are trading less. Over the last 20 trading days, retail investors have purchased just +$1 billion of single stocks, near the lowest 20-day total in at least 2 years. In early August, this figure even briefly turned negative for the first time since at least October 2024. By comparison, retail's 20-day purchases stood at +$20 billion in April 2025. Furthermore, total retail equity purchases have declined to +$10 billion over the last 20 trading days, near their lowest reading since at least October 2024. Retail equity purchases are now down -67% from the +$30 billion recorded over the 20-day period in February 2026. Retail investors are becoming more cautious.

Retail investors are increasingly driving innovation, bringing new strategies and ideas to market that institutional investors are taking notice of. Hear more from Megan Miller of Allspring Global Investments in the latest episode of The Long & Short of It: