The Investment Identity Crisis: When Wall Street Became a Reflection of America's Soul Ordinary retail investors now account for over 20% of US stock market activity, roughly twice the level of a decade ago, according to estimates from Jefferies.
This seismic shift in investor demographics has profound implications for our understanding of America's relationship with finance.
The rise of "meme stocks" and cryptocurrencies is merely the tip of the iceberg – what we're seeing is a fundamental transformation in how Americans perceive investing as an extension of their identity.