Stock Investors Are Younger and More Racially Diverse

Brokerage firms such as Robinhood Financial LLC, zero-commission trading, the surge in exchange-traded funds and the growth in fractional share ownership have all had a hand in luring a new generation of investors to the stock market in recent years. If anything, the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the trends, as evidenced by the unnaturally high prices paid for shares of bankrupt Hertz Global Holdings Inc. or Tesla Inc.’s soaring stock price.

Now comes a new Yahoo Finance Harris poll that reveals other changes in the investing landscape that have far-reaching implications for both the government and companies. For one, more than half the racial gap in individual stock ownership has disappeared essentially overnight. Also, both younger and older Americans are now more likely to own stocks than those in their prime, middle-age asset accumulation years. More than one-third of those middle-aged investors have greatly reduced their stock holdings.