Retail investors increased their investments on the Moscow Exchange to 142.9 billion rubles: a bet on bonds and a turning point in the trading structure
In July 2026, retail investors directed a record 142.9 billion rubles to the Moscow Exchange stock market. This figure reflects not just an influx of liquidity, but a clear shift in retail preferences: debt instruments continue to dominate, while interest in equities shows explosive but targeted growth.
Investment Structure: A Conservative Lean
The bulk of the funds — 100.9 billion rubles — was placed in bonds. This confirms a sustained trend: amid volatility and uncertainty, retail investors are choosing predictable returns. At the same time, investments in equities reached 25.1 billion rubles, 1.9 times higher than the same period last year. Mutual funds attracted 16.8 billion rubles, showing 9.8% year-on-year growth.
This imbalance is no coincidence. Retail is voting with its money for defensive assets, signaling that risk appetite remains moderate. However, the twofold jump in equities points to the emergence of speculative demand that was previously suppressed.
Activity and Participant Profile
The number of retail investors with brokerage accounts reached 42.2 million, increasing by 343,500 over the month. The total number of open accounts exceeded 80.8 million. More than 3.1 million people executed trades, of whom 353,500 were qualified investors with access to complex instruments.
A key point — the share of individuals in equity trading volume stood at 63.3%, in the derivatives market at 50.9%, and in bonds at just 14.5%. This means that pricing in the equity market is increasingly driven by the sentiment of small participants rather than institutional giants. For an analyst, this is a warning sign: retail tends to make emotional decisions, amplifying volatility.
IIAs and Regional Dynamics
The number of individual investment accounts (IIAs) grew to 6.4 million, with monthly turnover reaching 340.4 billion rubles. In the structure of these operations, 59% went to equities, 24% to fund units, and 17% to bonds. Moscow leads in the number of opened IIAs (648,100), followed by the Moscow Region (378,500) and St. Petersburg (318,500). The top ten also includes Krasnodar Krai, Sverdlovsk Region, Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Rostov, Chelyabinsk, and Samara Regions — the geography mirrors the country's map of business activity.
In parallel, the exchange is strengthening trade protection: AI systems are being introduced to detect manipulation, and new areas are being developed, including fixings for foreign securities and promising cryptocurrency trading.
My view: the growth in equity investments against the backdrop of bond dominance is a classic sign of emerging risk appetite, but it is fragile. As long as retail does not stop perceiving the stock market as a "casino with dividends," a sustained rally should not be expected. Watch the share of individuals in turnover: if it breaks 70%, corrections will become deeper and sharper.