, Columnist
The Dumb Money Isn't So Dumb
Individual investors haven't abandoned the stock market. They've just gotten smarter about it.
They've learned a few lessons
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Last week, Jason Trennert, chief investment strategist at Strategas Research Partners, noted on Bloomberg Daybreak how remarkable it was that the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 20,000 without the help of individual investors.
A decade ago, I might have agreed with the argument that when the dumb money -- the small, late-to-the-party retail investor -- enters the market a cyclical top is near. That may be true this time, as well. However, I take issue with the notion that individual investors are not participating in markets. The data suggest they are, just not in the way they did in the past.