Retail investors snapped up $7.5 billion worth of US stocks last week

In April, market participants withdrew $74 billion from exchange-traded funds (ETFs). During this period, retail investors capitalized on a significant downturn, engaging directly in the fastest pullback of the S&P 500 Index since 1982.    

A note from RBC Capital Markets strategist Amy Wu Silverman indicates that private investor inflows into ETFs exceeded $50 billion from April 8 to April 15. Though the pace of US stock purchases slowed following the significant market sell-off, these players still acquired $7.5 billion in assets last week.

Even though their values have fallen considerably and for a long time, retail investors have continued to invest in US securities since the start of the year. Institutional traders, on the other hand, have significantly reduced their exposure to financial markets and are now playing catch-up.

According to data from the Public brokerage platform, investors who purchased stocks between April 3 and May 9 earned 12% returns. One of the most profitable assets cited by company representatives was the S&P 500 index.