U.S. Investing Statistics (2026)

The numbers

1. Share of U.S. adults who own stock: 62%

   Highest reading on record. Includes direct ownership, mutual funds, ETFs, and retirement accounts.

   As of 2025 · Gallup

2. Total U.S. ETF assets: $9.7 trillion

   Up from $6.5 trillion three years earlier. Equity ETFs make up 78% of the total.

   As of 2025-Q4 · Investment Company Institute

3. Total U.S. mutual-fund assets: $29.8 trillion

   Still ~3× the ETF market, but mutual-fund net new flows turned negative in 2024 for the first time on record.

   As of 2025-Q4 · Investment Company Institute

4. S&P 500 annualized real return, 1928–2025: 6.95%

   After inflation, with dividends reinvested. The single most-cited long-run U.S. equity benchmark.

   As of 2025 · NYU Stern (Aswath Damodaran)

5. Average expense ratio for equity index funds: 0.05%

   Down from 0.27% in 2000. Active equity funds average 0.42%, leaving a persistent ~37bp annual drag.

   As of 2025 · Investment Company Institute

6. Robo-advisor assets under management: $1.4 trillion

   Roughly 12% of the broader retail managed-portfolio market. Betterment, Wealthfront, and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios are the three largest.

   As of 2025-Q4 · U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

7. Share of active U.S. equity funds beating S&P 500 over 15 years: 7%

   From SPIVA. Net of fees and survivorship. The case study most commonly cited for indexing.

   As of 2025 · S&P Dow Jones Indices

8. Retail brokerage accounts: 156 million

   Roughly 1.7 accounts per U.S. adult investor. Schwab + Fidelity + Vanguard hold ~67% of assets.

   As of 2025-Q4 · FINRA

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the 7% long-run return number realistic?

It's a real (inflation-adjusted) U.S. equity return over a 97-year window — long enough to smooth most cycles. Forward expected returns are usually cited 1–2 percentage points lower because of currently elevated valuations.