Investor activity falls slightly in the second quarter of 2026

The FSMA has published a new edition of its Retail Investor Dashboard. This publication provides an overview of the behaviour of Belgian retail investors for each quarter. This edition contains data on the first and the second quarters of 2026. In what follows, we provide a summary of the most important developments. Slight fall in investor interest in the second quarter of 2026 In the second quarter of 2026, about 230,000 Belgian retail investors traded in shares; in addition, 179,000 Belgian retail investors invested in ETFs and 15,000 in bonds. These figures indicate a decrease in the number of active investors in all three types of instruments, as compared to the first quarter. A similar decrease occurred in past years as well, and may be due to a seasonal effect. During the first half of 2026, the number of investors who traded in ETFs for the first time was significantly higher than in the second half of 2025. During the second quarter of 2026, 20,000, 28,000 and 4,000 Belgian retail investors respectively invested for the first time in shares, ETFs or bonds. The decrease in the number of active investors has also resulted in a fall in the number of transact...