Maybe the Retail Investor is Retiring

A persistent trend for the past three years is that retail investors have been bailing out of the stock market. Even now, with the market reaching new post-2008 highs, individual investors continue their exodus. Stock market pundits scold shrilly, pointing out that these wusses have missed out on the big rally of the past six months. The same wusses are deemed to be short-sighted for piling into bond funds at a time of historically low interest rates following a 30-year bond market rally. The pundits pronounce retail investors foolish, or worse.

But stock market pundits often get it wrong. Very few of them predicted the 2008 crash. Most don't have investment records that beat the S&P 500. Retail investors may in fact be acting very rationally. The oldest Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age--i.e., 65. It's accepted wisdom that investors should ease out of stocks as they get older, and shift into bonds to stabilize their portfolios. This portfolio shift was recommended long before the 2008 crash, and nothing that's happened since then has made it seem less than wise.

The volatility in the stock market, resulting from its domination by short term, big money, usually computerized traders, would like nothing better than plenty of retail participation. That would give the smart money more sheep to shear. But having been just recently shorn, Boomers and other investors may be less willing to buy into the hype. Prices of risk assets have painfully proven to be ephemeral. Real estate, on the whole, is still falling. Stocks are bipolar. Just because the Dow tops 13,000 doesn't mean its worth 13,000 or anything near that, not unless you plan to sell tomorrow. Retail investors--or at least the Boomers among them--may be gradually retiring. And this trend could continue for a generation.