- 49% of American retail investors plan to or have already adjusted their portfolios based on their expected outcome of the presidential election.
- Retail investors are most likely to increase their cash assets (42%) and purchase more stocks (35%) and cryptoassets (20%) due to the upcoming election.
- Financial services remains the top held sector – followed by technology and energy.
- Of the Magnificent 7 stocks, retail Investors are most likely to increase their holdings in Amazon.
Wednesday October 2, 2024 – As the presidential election draws nearer, 49% of American retail investors are planning to or have already adjusted their investment portfolios based on what they think will happen. According to data from the latest quarterly Retail Investor Beat, from trading and investing platform eToro, investors who are planning ahead due to the election are increasing their cash assets (42%) and purchasing more stocks (35%) and cryptoassets (20%).
In the study of 1,000 U.S. retail investors, Gen Z (69%) and Millennials (68%) are taking the most active approach. Millennials (32%) are more than twice as likely than their Boomer parents (14%) to have already adjusted their portfolios. Meanwhile, the majority of the older generations: Gen X (51%), Boomers (63%), and Silent Generation (60%) have not and will not adjust their portfolios before the election. Gen Z is leading the race into equities with almost half of the demographic (49%) planning to or already purchasing more stocks whereas investors of the Silent Generation (47%), Millennials (46%), and Boomers (43%) are increasing their cash allocations.
Commenting on the data, eToro Analyst Bret Kenwell, said: “There’s nothing wrong with investors adjusting their asset allocation ahead of a big event — like the election. While younger investors are being a bit more opportunistic, older investors are opting to be more passive, letting their investment plans stay the course. Perhaps that’s as their experience has shown equities have generally performed pretty well over the long term, regardless of which political party is in office.”
Table shows the percent of investors increasing stock, crypto, cash allocations amongst the different generations due to the election
| Age group | % Buying more U.S. stocks | % Buying more crypto | % Increasing cash |
| Generation Z
(ages 18-27) |
49% | 25% | 33% |
| Millennials
(ages 28-43) |
34% | 27% | 46% |
| Generation X
(ages 44-59) |
37% | 22% | 37% |
| Baby Boomer
(ages 60-78) |
29% | 7% | 43% |
| Silent Generation
(ages 79+) |
27% | 0% | 47% |
Overall, retail investors remain bullish on financial services making it the top held sector (58%) followed by technology (51%) and energy (41%). However, the data showed a generational difference in what retail investors have been buying — especially in technology. Gen Z (68%) and the Silent Generation (55%) both saw a 20 percentage point increase in tech ownership from the previous quarter, while all other generations saw a decrease. When it comes to the Magnificent 7, respondents of all ages were most likely to have invested more or plan to invest more in Amazon (26%) than any other Magnificent 7 holdings. On the other side, Tesla was the least popular with 36% indicating they have not or do not plan to invest in the stock , just above Alphabet (35%) and Nvidia (34%).
Bret Kenwell adds: “The Magnificent 7 stocks have been lagging the broader market over the past few months, but have been the undeniable leader over the last few years. It’s interesting to see such a dispersion between generations looking to buy the dip in tech, with the Gen Z and the Silent Generation leading the charge. These stocks have become the household favorites, so at some point, it’s reasonable to expect tech to regain its leadership role.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
About this report
The latest Retail Investor Beat was based on a survey of 10,000 retail investors across 12 countries and 3 continents. The following countries had 1,000 respondents: UK, US, Germany, France, Australia, Italy and Spain. The following countries had 600 respondents: Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic.
The survey was conducted from August 16 – September 2 2024 and carried out by research company Opinium. Retail investors were defined as self-directed or advised and had to hold at least one investment product including shares, bonds, funds, investment ISAs or equivalent. They did not need to be eToro users.
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