Retail investing is undergoing a generational reboot. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Retail Investor Outlook 2024, 30% of Gen Z start investing in early adulthood—compared to just 9% of Gen X and 6% of Baby Boomers. By the time they enter the workforce, 86% of Gen Z have already learned about personal investing, while only 47% of Boomers can say the same.
This generational transformation is reshaping not just participation rates, but market behavior. More than ever, individual investors are shaping market momentum, driven by new values, digital-first habits, and a radically different relationship with financial information.
But while the volume of retail investing has grown, so too has the velocity of market shifts. The question now isn’t just whether investors are participating—it’s whether they can keep up.
In an era when Reddit threads and TikTok clips can send a stock soaring, the pace of market cycles has outstripped the reach of traditional investing education. George Kailas, CEO of Prospero.ai, believes many retail investors are playing a losing game—chasing price action long after institutional investors have made their moves.
“Retail investors are constantly playing catch-up, chasing trends that have already been priced in by the time they hear about them. When GameStop started running, we had already flagged institutional options activity that signaled a major move days before it hit the mainstream,” says Kailas. “But more importantly, we also caught when the rally was over, long before most people realized they were holding the bag.”
Kailas founded Prospero.ai to level the playing field for everyday investors. The platform uses real-time alternative data and machine learning to flag patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. “AI doesn’t get caught up in FOMO,” he adds. “It detects real patterns and flags when something isn’t adding up.”
Younger investors, in particular, are showing a surprising openness to AI-driven investment guidance. The WEF report found that 41% of Gen Z and Millennials would allow an AI assistant to manage their investments—compared to just 14% of Boomers. In emerging markets, that number rises to 48% across all ages.
This shift is a response to both opportunity and accessibility. Traditional financial advisors often remain expensive or inaccessible to early investors. AI-driven platforms offer always-on insights at a fraction of the cost, enabling users to test strategies, model risk, and gain confidence without needing a six-figure portfolio.
“Innovative financial advisory tools, such as AI-enabled products, could fill the gaps where traditional financial advisory may be too expensive or out of reach,” said Stephanie Guild, CFA, Senior Director of Investment Strategy at Robinhood, one of the WEF study’s collaborators.
Gen Z and Millennials are not only more likely to invest earlier, but they’re also investing differently. A growing number are prioritizing short-term financial goals over long-term wealth building. The WEF found that 51% of retail investors now focus on emergency savings, while those investing with retirement in mind fell from 48% to 42% between 2022 and 2024.
And while cryptocurrency has fallen in popularity among older generations, younger investors increasingly see it as more accessible than traditional stocks. Over half of investors under 44 who hold cryptocurrencies say they’ve allocated at least a third of their portfolios to digital assets.
At the same time, there’s a striking gap in financial literacy. Nearly one in three non-investors avoid the stock market due to lack of understanding—more than those who avoid crypto for the same reason. Over 50% of non-investors say they would have felt more confident investing if financial education had started in primary school.
As George Kailas notes, “The problem isn’t just that people jump into hype trades too late. It’s that they don’t have the tools to tell whether they’re following smart money or just getting baited by social media noise.”
That distinction could become even more critical as AI becomes a staple in retail investing. Apps like Prospero offer an early glimpse into how AI can empower rather than replace investors—by surfacing institutional-grade insights in real time, flagging anomalies, and reducing reliance on guesswork.
Retail investors—especially the rising cohort of Gen Z and Millennials—are no longer on the sidelines. But to stay in the game, they’ll need tools that think faster, see wider, and learn continually. The future of investing may be more democratized, but it will also be more data-driven than ever.