The popularity of retail investing is increasing as a wide range of products, including low-risk Treasuries and speculative offerings based on film scores, gain traction.
Public.com, a retail investing app, has expanded its offerings to include less tangible assets, with its first royalty-based product being based on the score of the Shrek movies. This high-yielding asset saw a surge in interest from customers in a short amount of time.
Retail investing has undergone a shift since the pandemic, with clients becoming more cautious due to factors such as higher inflation, interest rates, and reduced disposable income. It is now seen as a post-tax investment account, with a move towards a more conservative allocation of capital focused on generating income.
Public.com, which initially focused on equities and ETFs, has responded to client demand for exposure to Treasury markets without the need for an ETF. It has introduced Treasury products using fractionalization techniques, similar to its equity offerings, allowing investors to gain access to the US government bond market with lower-risk yields.
As retail investors become more knowledgeable, they are becoming more wary of speculative investments and platforms like RobinHood. The demands of these investors are evolving, and platforms are adapting to meet their needs by introducing new products.
In a related development, Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, has predicted that the price of Bitcoin could rise to $1.5 million.
