Retail Stock Trading Just Halved From Its Peak – Lowest Since the 2022 Bear Market

Retail trading activity as a share of total US stock volume has fallen to 8.1%, its lowest level since Q3 2024.

According to The Kobeissi Letter, the figure has nearly halved from its November 2025 peak of 15.0%, marking a sharp pullback.

Current participation now sits below the 11.5% high reached during the 2021 meme-stock frenzy. It is also in line with levels last seen during the 2020 pandemic and the 2022 bear market.

“Risk appetite among retail investors is plummeting,” The Kobeissi Letter wrote. “Retail is rushing to the sidelines.”

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The retreat extends to options markets. Zero-days-to-expiration (0DTE) options volume as a share of total volume has declined to 57%, its lowest reading since Q1 2025. The data suggests a broad-based shift, with individual investors pulling back across both equities and derivatives amid heightened macro uncertainty.

While retail investors pulled back from stocks, capital flowed heavily into precious metals. Since Q2 2025, retail investors have bought over $70 billion in gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs). 

That pace has more than tripled over the past six months. Over the past year, retail investors also purchased more than $10 billion in silver ETFs.

The combination of collapsing retail equity participation, retreating 0DTE activity, and surging precious metals inflows paints a clear picture. Retail investors are actively repositioning portfolios toward perceived safety, and that shift has yet to reverse.

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