The rise in retail investing: Roles of the economic cycle and income growth

Figure 1: The share of investors with lower incomes rose steadily over the past decade—particularly during the pandemic savings surge.

The first panel is a line chart showing share of individuals transferring funds to investment accounts from 2008 to 2023, relative to 2010-2015 average level. The figure breaks out individuals by below- and above-median income. The share of individuals transferring to investment accounts of both groups trends upward from 2016 to 2021, with the below-median income individuals increasing by about twice as much as above-median income individuals.