Retail investors poured 142.9 billion rubles into the Moscow Exchange: record demand for bonds
July 2026 became a landmark month for the Russian stock market: retail investors channeled 142.9 billion rubles into the Moscow Exchange. This is not just a number — it is a marker of shifting sentiment in the retail segment, where priorities are increasingly moving toward debt instruments.
The key driver is bonds. Individuals invested 100.9 billion rubles in them, accounting for more than 70% of the total volume. Stocks attracted 25.1 billion rubles — nearly double the figure from a year earlier. Mutual funds added 16.8 billion rubles to the picture, exceeding the July 2025 figure by 9.8%. This structure points to a clearly conservative strategy: retail investors are seeking predictable returns rather than chasing volatility.
Activity and participant composition
The number of retail investors with brokerage accounts reached 42.2 million, increasing by 343.5 thousand over the month. More than 80.8 million accounts have already been opened. Over 3.1 million people executed trades in July, of whom 353.5 thousand were qualified investors with access to complex instruments.
The share of individuals in stock trading volume stood at an impressive 63.3%, in the derivatives market at 50.9%, and in bonds at 14.5%. This confirms that retail investors are no longer just present in the market but are effectively shaping its movement, seizing the initiative from institutional players.
Individual investment accounts and regional dynamics
The number of individual investment accounts (IIAs) grew to 6.4 million. Their monthly turnover reached 340.4 billion rubles, of which 59% came from stocks, 24% from fund units, and 17% from bonds.
The geography is traditional: Moscow leads with 648.1 thousand accounts, followed by the Moscow region (378.5 thousand) and St. Petersburg (318.5 thousand). The top 10 also includes Krasnodar Krai, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, and Samara regions — reflecting the overall business activity of regions where capitals still dominate.
My view: The growth in bond investments alongside a doubling of interest in stocks is a signal that the retail investor is becoming more mature, diversifying risks. However, the market's dependence on the sentiment of small participants, especially against the backdrop of a 63% share in stocks, adds volatility. Under such conditions, it is important for the exchange to maintain protective mechanisms — and the implementation of AI systems to detect manipulation looks like a timely step toward stabilization.