Is Barron’s the Best Website To Learn About Stocks?

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We recently made a list of 15 Best Websites To Research Stocks. Barron's is one of them.

When it comes to building a strong portfolio, retail investors conduct a great deal of research to learn about the macroeconomic climate, read up on the most recent stock market trends, become familiar with investing strategies, and observe the most notable actions of smart investors and elite hedge funds. A sizable portion of the investing community consists of retail investors, and they have access to a wealth of online information that can assist them in navigating the volatile stock market. According to Gallup’s survey, 162 million Americans, or 62% of adults in the United States, own shares in public companies. That is a 1% rise over 2023 and the highest percentage observed by Gallup since 2008. During the Great Recession, stock ownership declined and remained low for more than a decade, reaching lows of 52% in 2013 and 2016. Before 2008, the majority of Gallup surveys revealed that at least 60% of American adults owned stocks.

Today, the stock market is very different from what existed at the time of the millennium. The internet has democratized information, resulting in increased  stock market involvement, which has been accelerated during the pandemic. Wall Street welcomed retail investors for the first time as a result of the pandemic, even though the global outbreak is primarily remembered for the deadly virus and lockdowns. In a poll, 15% of American stock market participants stated they started investing in 2020. The study additionally shows that these new investors tended to be more optimistic about their prospects for success in the stock market. A study revealed that 19.5% of all stock market shares exchanged in the first half of 2020 were made by individual investors. That is about twice as many trades by ordinary investors as there were in 2010, and it represents an increase of 4.5% over 2019. This occurred during the meme stock mania in 2021, which saw prominent businesses skyrocketing on the stock market as retail investors banded together on social media and purchased the shares in bulk.

Notwithstanding the attraction of potential profits, new research from eToro indicates that many retail investors in the United States appear to be more afraid of losing money than they are of missing out on the next great opportunity. Rethinking Risk, research by eToro, finds that while 31% of US retail investors are driven by the fear of missing out on the next great thing, 61% of investors indicate that their investment strategy is shaped by the fear of losing money through immoderate risk. Their behaviors, however, reveal a different tale, as many retail investors continue to invest in risky assets, with 70% holding single stocks and 41% holding crypto assets in their portfolios. Additionally, this research shows that 62% of people who began investing in the markets now feel better about it.