A new report from Citigroup indicates that retail investor enthusiasm for trading the so-called US "Magnificent Seven" stocks has dropped to its lowest level in four years, with funds moving away from individual stocks and towards exchange-traded funds.
In the five trading days leading up to June 26th, retail trading volume accounted for only 6% of the total trading volume for the seven-stock group. This group includes Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. In contrast, during 2023 and 2024, retail trading volume often exceeded 20% within similar five-day periods.
Citigroup equity strategists noted that retail trading volume has been declining since the end of last year and is expected to continue through 2026. The report shows that overall retail trading volume fell 15% in June through last Friday, while the total market trading volume actually increased by 12% over the same period, indicating a clear pullback in retail participation.
Funds are likely shifting from individual stocks into leveraged ETFs, or the proportion of tax refund money being invested in the stock market may be decreasing due to cost-of-living pressures. Additional analysis suggests that high-profile IPOs like SpaceX have attracted significant retail capital. On its first day of trading last Friday, SpaceX attracted a net retail purchase of $117 million, accounting for 56% of all US retail stock buying that day.
Among the Magnificent Seven, the decline in retail trading was most pronounced for Nvidia. Last week, retail activity accounted for only 8.1% of its trading, down from 9.6% the prior week. In March of this year, retail investors were net sellers of Nvidia stock for the first time since July 2025. Tesla remains the stock with the highest retail interest, with a trading volume share of 10%, though this is still near its lowest level since 2022. According to Citigroup data, retail interest in the seven stocks over the past week was lower than on approximately 85% of trading days since 2022.
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