What Is a Retail Investor?

Retail Investors’ Revolution: From 2019 to 2025

From being underdogs to shaking up Wall Street, retail investors have completely transformed the investment landscape over the past five years. Armed with smartphones, commission-free trading, and a sense of community, individual investors have proven their power—and their presence—across markets. This article explores the rise of retail investing from 2019 to 2025, what caused the surge, and how it reshaped finance.

Retail Investors Typically

A retail investor is a non-professional, individual investor who buys and sells securities using personal capital. Unlike institutional investors (such as hedge funds or pension managers), retail investors typically:

Operate independently
Trade in smaller volumes
Use online brokers or investment apps
Often have less access to financial research

Before 2019, retail participation in financial markets was considered modest. But everything changed in the early 2020s.

1. The Catalyst: COVID-19 and Market Crash of 2020

In March 2020, stock markets experienced one of the fastest declines in history due to COVID-19 fears. However, this was followed by:

Massive stimulus checks distributed to individuals in countries like the U.S.
More free time as millions stayed home due to lockdowns
Low interest rates that made savings accounts less attractive

This environment pushed millions of people to start trading and investing—many for the first time.

2. The Rise of Commission-Free Trading

A major game changer for retail investors was the removal of trading fees:

In 2019, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and others cut commission fees to zero.
Platforms like Robinhood, Webull, and eToro made investing accessible to younger, tech-savvy users.

This democratized trading, allowing people to buy fractions of shares and invest with as little as $1.

3. The Meme Stock Phenomenon

One of the most iconic moments in retail investing history came in early 2021 with the GameStop (GME) saga:

A Reddit group called r/WallStreetBets organized a mass buying effort to push up GME’s price.
The stock skyrocketed over 1,500%, causing massive losses for short-selling hedge funds.
Other stocks like AMC, BlackBerry, and Bed Bath & Beyond followed.

This event proved that retail traders, when united, could challenge even the most powerful institutions.

4. Social Media’s Role in Investing

Platforms like Reddit, YouTube, Twitter (X), TikTok, and Discord became essential for retail investing:

Investment ideas and stock tips were shared instantly with large audiences.
“Finfluencers”—financial influencers—gained millions of followers.
Real-time discussion led to faster decision-making and often herd behavior.

While this made financial markets more dynamic, it also increased risks of misinformation and hype.

5. Crypto and NFTs: New Frontiers for Retail

Retail interest extended beyond traditional stocks:

Bitcoin and Ethereum saw record adoption by individual investors.
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) exploded in 2021–2022, with average people buying digital art and collectibles.
Platforms like Coinbase and Binance enabled quick entry into crypto markets.

These assets introduced high volatility—but also massive potential gains that attracted younger demographics.

6. Investing Became a Cultural Movement

The 2020s witnessed the cultural shift of investing from “boring” to “cool”:

People posted screenshots of trades on social media.
Terms like “diamond hands,” “to the moon,” and “HODL” entered pop culture.
Retail investing became a form of expression, protest, and identity—especially among millennials and Gen Z.

7. Financial Education and Apps

With investing becoming popular, so did financial literacy:

Apps like Public, SoFi, and Acorns began offering beginner-friendly content.
YouTube creators like Graham Stephan and Andrei Jikh educated millions.
Podcasts and newsletters helped normalize financial discussions among everyday people.

Retail investors became smarter and more analytical—even building tools to track portfolios and analyze risk.

8. Regulators Step In

The explosion in retail participation forced governments and regulators to react:

The SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) investigated market manipulation claims after the GameStop incident.
“Payment for order flow” practices came under scrutiny, as brokers earned revenue by selling trade data.
Crypto regulations tightened as scams and volatility increased.

By 2025, the retail investing world is more regulated—but still growing.

The Numbers Behind the Revolution

Here are some key statistics highlighting retail investors’ impact:

Over 25 million new brokerage accounts were opened in the U.S. alone between 2020 and 2022.
Retail trades made up 30–40% of total market volume at peak moments.
Average age of a first-time investor dropped to 31 years old by 2024.

Retail investors have become a permanent part of the financial ecosystem.

What This Means for the Future

Retail investing in 2025 is:

Faster: with real-time data, mobile apps, and AI-powered insights.
More diverse: with women, minorities, and younger people investing more than ever.
Better informed: thanks to free education and open platforms.
Still risky: herd behavior, speculation, and hype can still lead to losses.

Institutional investors now monitor social media trends closely, and hedge funds even employ analysts to track Reddit and Twitter sentiment.

Final Thoughts

The retail investor revolution from 2019 to 2025 proved that financial markets are no longer an elite-only game. With the right tools, education, and community, individual investors reshaped Wall Street—perhaps forever.

Their influence will continue to evolve, but one thing is clear: retail is here to stay.

Operate independently
Trade in smaller volumes
Use online brokers or investment apps
Often have less access to financial research

Before 2019, retail participation in financial markets was considered modest. But everything changed in the early 2020s.

1. The Catalyst: COVID-19 and Market Crash of 2020

In March 2020, stock markets experienced one of the fastest declines in history due to COVID-19 fears. However, this was followed by:

Massive stimulus checks distributed to individuals in countries like the U.S.
More free time as millions stayed home due to lockdowns
Low interest rates that made savings accounts less attractive

This environment pushed millions of people to start trading and investing—many for the first time.

2. The Rise of Commission-Free Trading

A major game changer for retail investors was the removal of trading fees:

In 2019, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and others cut commission fees to zero.
Platforms like Robinhood, Webull, and eToro made investing accessible to younger, tech-savvy users.

This democratized trading, allowing people to buy fractions of shares and invest with as little as $1.

3. The Meme Stock Phenomenon

One of the most iconic moments in retail investing history came in early 2021 with the GameStop (GME) saga:

A Reddit group called r/WallStreetBets organized a mass buying effort to push up GME’s price.
The stock skyrocketed over 1,500%, causing massive losses for short-selling hedge funds.
Other stocks like AMC, BlackBerry, and Bed Bath & Beyond followed.

This event proved that retail traders, when united, could challenge even the most powerful institutions.

4. Social Media’s Role in Investing

Platforms like Reddit, YouTube, Twitter (X), TikTok, and Discord became essential for retail investing:

Investment ideas and stock tips were shared instantly with large audiences.
“Finfluencers”—financial influencers—gained millions of followers.
Real-time discussion led to faster decision-making and often herd behavior.

While this made financial markets more dynamic, it also increased risks of misinformation and hype.

5. Crypto and NFTs: New Frontiers for Retail

Retail interest extended beyond traditional stocks:

Bitcoin and Ethereum saw record adoption by individual investors.
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) exploded in 2021–2022, with average people buying digital art and collectibles.
Platforms like Coinbase and Binance enabled quick entry into crypto markets.

These assets introduced high volatility—but also massive potential gains that attracted younger demographics.

6. Investing Became a Cultural Movement

The 2020s witnessed the cultural shift of investing from “boring” to “cool”:

People posted screenshots of trades on social media.
Terms like “diamond hands,” “to the moon,” and “HODL” entered pop culture.
Retail investing became a form of expression, protest, and identity—especially among millennials and Gen Z.

7. Financial Education and Apps

With investing becoming popular, so did financial literacy:

Apps like Public, SoFi, and Acorns began offering beginner-friendly content.
YouTube creators like Graham Stephan and Andrei Jikh educated millions.
Podcasts and newsletters helped normalize financial discussions among everyday people.

Retail investors became smarter and more analytical—even building tools to track portfolios and analyze risk.

8. Regulators Step In

The explosion in retail participation forced governments and regulators to react:

The SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) investigated market manipulation claims after the GameStop incident.
“Payment for order flow” practices came under scrutiny, as brokers earned revenue by selling trade data.
Crypto regulations tightened as scams and volatility increased.

By 2025, the retail investing world is more regulated—but still growing.

The Numbers Behind the Revolution

Here are some key statistics highlighting retail investors’ impact:

Over 25 million new brokerage accounts were opened in the U.S. alone between 2020 and 2022.
Retail trades made up 30–40% of total market volume at peak moments.
Average age of a first-time investor dropped to 31 years old by 2024.

Retail investors have become a permanent part of the financial ecosystem.

What This Means for the Future

Retail investing in 2025 is:

Faster: with real-time data, mobile apps, and AI-powered insights.
More diverse: with women, minorities, and younger people investing more than ever.
Better informed: thanks to free education and open platforms.
Still risky: herd behavior, speculation, and hype can still lead to losses.

Institutional investors now monitor social media trends closely, and hedge funds even employ analysts to track Reddit and Twitter sentiment.

Final Thoughts

Their influence will continue to evolve, but one thing is clear: retail is here to stay.