I recently saw a stat that really caught my attention. On March 23rd, retail investors sold about $20.6 million worth of stocks. It was the first day they were net sellers since November of 2023. Now, $20 million is a lot of money to you and me, but in the context of the global stock market, it’s a drop in the ocean.

The U.S. stock market alone trades hundreds of billions of dollars every single day; on average between 300 and 500 billion. So, when you see big swings up or down in the market, it’s not being driven by individual investors. It’s being driven by institutions.

Large investment firms, pension funds, and hedge funds—these are the players moving massive amounts of capital based on global events, or interest rates, or economic data.

There’s a line I like, “retail reacts, institutions initiate.” In other words, the big moves start at the institutional level. Individual investors tend to respond after the fact—buying when things feel good, and selling when things feel uncomfortable.

So, when the market is swinging wildly from day to day, it can feel like everyone is panicking or rushing in at once. But the reality is, those moves are happening regardless of what you and I – the retail investor – is doing. And that’s an important reminder. Because if we’re reacting emotionally to those swings, we’re not influencing the market, we’re just getting whipped around by it. Were you whipped around by it over these last few weeks?

Remember that a better approach is to stay grounded in a long-term plan, rather than trying to respond to short-term movements that we didn’t create and can’t control. If you need a fellow investor to help you stay grounded, reach out to us here.