❤️‍🔥 New Data: What Investors Want

Risk On, Replacing 60/40, and Rewriting Rules — This Probably Isn't What Jack Bogle Had In Mind

Author

Katie Perry
August 26, 2025

Welcome to Tuesday Thursday Saturday! Here, I share a snapshot of trending stories across business, tech, and culture, plus some updates from the daily financial news show I host. - KP

The Big Story: Preliminary Data from a New Survey of U.S.-Based Investors

I feel like writing a book is sort of like running a marathon, where it slowly becomes all you ever talk about. Personally, I’ve run 15 marathons, and I’m fairly certain I’ve been rather annoying about all of them. That said, I am digging into a ton of cool stuff as I work on my book that I plan to share here in preview form.

Today, I wanted to share a snapshot of new data I’m collecting as part of this project. I’m currently fielding a study of retail investors designed to understand their habits, behaviors, and engagement level with the companies they invest in. Back when I led marketing and content at Public.com, conducting investor surveys was one of the more interesting things I was in charge of — you could really see how habits were shifting quarter to quarter, and year over year.

Below are some directional findings that I found compelling, but please keep in mind that this data is preliminary, incomplete, and not fully analyzed. You’ll have to wait until the book’s out for all that!

Methodology: U.S. adults 18+ who use a brokerage account for self-managed trading and investing. N=500. Data sourced from X, Reddit, and Pollfish. Fielded Aug. 2025.

Alts are all but mainstream

The 60/40 portfolio is undergoing a shakeup with the rise of alts, and the early data shines a light on what’s going on. 65.0% of respondents indicated that they actively invest in and/or trade crypto, compared to 52.4% who said they invest in bonds. About as many people said they invest in art and collectibles (11.7%) as they do in real estate (11.9%).

Art/collectibles and real estate coming in at comparable levels is telling, but not entirely surprising. It’s well-documented that Millennials have much lower rates of home ownership by age 30 than the generations prior. Blame crippling student loan debt, lack of liquidity in the housing market, or whatever you want – but one thing is true: The American Dream is no longer all about owning a house. This is a point that Vlad Tenev made when I spoke with him for a Stocktwits interview a couple of months back.

I also asked survey respondents about their participation in private markets (VC, PE) and prediction markets. I will save those results for another time, but I can say it’s getting interesting out there. Last week, FanDuel and CME Group announced a partnership to offer event-based contracts. (Kalshi powers prediction markets on Robinhood.)

No such thing as The One

I’m particularly interested in how investors spread their money and time across trading and investing apps. Brokerage IPOs have been hot – Robinhood’s been on a tear (up 180% YTD as of Aug. 25), Coinbase is doing its thing, albeit it’s been a bumpier ride, SoFi crossed $20/share on news that it would be adding private markets investments on its platform, and eToro and WeBull are also in the mix. Even the OG, Interactive Brokers, is set to replace Walgreens in the S&P 500. Gemini has plans to make moves of its own in the public markets. Tyler Winklevoss might want to download his own app before that happens, though.

Picking an out-and-out winner from the array of brokerage platforms might be a wasted endeavor, and that’s because some 66.6% of investors use more than one brokerage app. And a not insignificant 9.6% of respondents reported using more than three platforms!

Risky business

Speculation is as American as assault weapons and apple pie. I wrote about this a few months back in my piece, “Maybe We’re All Degenerates.” Looking at the distribution curve, you’ll notice that respondents skew speculative when asked to describe their primary trading and investing style.

Purple bars represent stratified data.

I wish I had conducted this same survey five years ago. My instincts tell me the curve would be shifted to the center back then, if not just left of it.

Information, everywhere

I’m going to save the detailed breakdown of where people turn to for trading ideas and insights for a later post, because there is a LOT to unpack there.

But as a preview, the preliminary research found that about a third of respondents report using AI/LLM tools like Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Grok to source information. This was slightly below — although in the vicinity of — X (38.5%) and Reddit (42.1%). Yes, Reddit! The place where it all began (on r/wallstreetbets).

Investor relations, interrupted

OK, onto the meatier stuff – AKA, the specific topics I’ll explore in the book. (By the way, I promise I’ll stop referring to it as “the book” as soon as we get the cover art and pre-order link sorted!)

I’m fascinated with the new dynamic between everyday investors and the executives and management teams leading the companies they invest in. Here are a few insights that reveal at least some of what’s going on.

First, check out the distribution curve that resulted when respondents were asked, “How important is it to you that CEOs and other executives actively engage with investors like yourself through social media, events, and other touch-points?” More than 80% of investors say it’s somewhat to extremely important to them.

Purple bars represent stratified data.

Next, I asked respondents to rank their expectations of the companies and management teams they invest in from a communications perspective. What I found interesting here is that while a lot of social conversations center on cult CEOs, memes, and exciting narratives, three things matter most:

  • Transparency: The team offers honest and realistic information (79.8%)

  • Professionalism and maturity of the management team (64.0%)

  • Education: Team provides helpful context about their business or sector (58.8%)

I’ll wait to share the full list, but I can tell you that CEO “cool factor” and likeability were near the bottom of the list (26.3%), as was offering an exciting story (21.3%). Perhaps you don’t need to be cool; you just need to be real.

A matter of trust

Trust is a big theme that emerged in the preliminary data. 87.4% of respondents believe companies exaggerate their performance in investor communications somewhat or often. The breakout there was ~70% “somewhat” and ~30% “often.”

Executive credibility is also an important consideration. When asked how they weigh C-suite trustworthiness in their investing decisions, more than 80% said it was a significant factor. A full 30.7% of respondents say it’s a “major factor” in their decisions.

Beyond this, a slight majority (52.8%) of respondents said they have sold out of a position due to negative press about a company’s leadership or corporate governance. 

There is so much more to get into, but even across these sample data points, it becomes clear just how much has changed when it comes to how companies become discoverable, investible, and trustworthy among today’s investors. 

For companies, finding where your investors are is challenge No. 1. They are splayed across dozens of digital channels and multiple trading platforms. The second question becomes, “How do I earn attention?” It’s great that trading is mainstream, but that also means the battle for share of voice is getting gnarly. That’s why hedge fund manager Eric Jackson, a guest on our show last week, is still standing outside of Drake’s home with a sign asking him to buy a share of Opendoor. 

Finally, there’s the figurehead issue. It’s always been important for CEOs to be charismatic and engaging. Being good on CNBC or FOX Business certainly helps. But how many leaders have made short-form videos, or have a person on their executive comms team devoted to X in particular? Are CEOs trained in how to handle a 20-minute podcast versus a 2-minute TV hit? Most S&P 500 CEOs are in their late 50s or 60s. They certainly didn’t grow up on these platforms, and until very recently, having an Instagram strategy was definitely NOT part of the CEO manual.

But all this matters now. It’s an exciting time to be an investor, and I would argue it’s an exciting time to be a publicly-traded company, too – if you have the stomach for it. As the saying goes, chaos is a ladder, and we’re at a moment where the companies that innovate quickly will gain unfair advantages when it comes to winning the retail investor vote.

I am writing a book on this topic that will be published by Wiley in Spring 2026. More to come on that front!

You might also like:

Daily Rip Live Recap: Is Powell’s Sad Airport Beer a Harbinger of What’s to Come? (Maybe He Just Likes Chili’s Too)

But why did they drop the barrel?

Every weekday, my co-host Shay Boloor and I cover the biggest market news and events LIVE on Stocktwits’ morning show, The Daily Rip Live. Shay’s on vacation for a couple of weeks, so we’re bringing in some big guns to fill in. On Monday, we welcomed Steve Hou, a quant researcher from Bloomberg, and Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist at Carson Group.

Here’s what we discussed:

⇢ 3:05 Did Chair Powell actually say anything in Jackson Hole? Regardless, the market liked it, as stocks surged on Friday.

⇢ 6:30 The first reaction after a Fed signal tends to be wrong, says Steve, citing historical data. Does this mean a short-term pullback is coming?

⇢ 31:40 Ryan unpacks last Friday's '90-90' day: 90% stocks up, 90% volume up — the data he is looking at would hint at a continued Bull market in the mid-to-long term.

⇢ 35:25 Powell having a sad airport beer at Chili's Too is potentially the most relatable thing ever? 🍺😔

⇢ 42:42 We're so sorry to report that the new Cracker Barrel logo sucks. Steve says we have an “underappreciation for the scarcity of legacy.” Well said.

⇢ 46:00 NVIDIA earnings on Weds. & unpacking the MIT AI study — are people freaking out for no reason?

⇢ 55:20 Soooo ... what happens if it's a no-cut September?

Reading List

Tuesday Thursday Saturday is written by Katie Perry, owner of Ursa Major Media, which provides fractional marketing services and strategy in software, tech, consumer products, professional services, and other industries. She is also the co-host of Stocktwits’ Daily Rip Live show.

Disclaimer: The contents here reflect recaps and summaries of pre-reported or published data, news, and trends. I have cited sources and context for the information provided to the best of my ability. The purpose of the newsletter is to inform and educate on larger trends shaping business and culture — this is NOT investment advice. As an investor, you should always do your own research before making any decisions about your money or your portfolio.

Thumbnail image of Warren Buffett is AI-generated.