07.07.26 – LONDON: Retail investors are increasingly turning to AI as their financial research assistant, according to Finimize's latest Modern Investor Pulse survey – but a conversation remains the single most powerful catalyst for getting people into investing.

The quarterly survey of 2,808 global retail investors lands following SpaceX’s record-breaking IPO, a strong run for equities and a split among central banks over how to respond to energy-driven inflation pressure linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

The results point to general optimism but increased caution with investors weighing confidence in market direction against a more unsettled backdrop on rates and the broader AI rally.
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• Conversations still win: 37.2% cite a conversation with someone as their original catalyst to start investing, but AI’s role as a gateway is growing AI IPO showdown
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• 44% of investors are increasing their AI commitments, and record-breaking IPOs aren’t the only story
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• Confidence holds but steadies: market optimism at its highest all year - with 69.5% of investors expecting global markets to be higher in 12 months' time and US remains the most attractive global market for investment

AI is the new research assistant, not yet the trusted friend

AI has made a significant mark on how retail investors research investments, with 40.9% using it at least weekly, against just 17.1% who never do.

This varies globally, and US investors are most likely to never use AI for research (24.4% vs 17.1% globally), while Asia leads on daily use (27.6% vs 15.9% globally).

Despite this increased reliance on AI for research, a conversation with someone who already invests remains the single most powerful catalyst for getting people into the market, cited by 37.2% of respondents this quarter.

The figure is remarkably consistent across tenure –  37.1% among investors who started this year versus 37.3% among those with 10+ years – suggesting word of mouth's pull isn't fading with newer generations of investors. A change in financial circumstances (27.1%) and traditional media (12%) were the next most common catalysts.

Despite this, AI-generated research accounts for just 4.5% of first catalysts among investors who started in the last two years - but this is roughly double compared to 2.5% of investors with more than 2 years of experience. The base is small, but the direction points to AI's role as an entry point slowly growing.

Set against the backdrop of tightening regulatory scrutiny of financial promotions on social media and ‘finfluencers’, social media's overall share of first-time catalysts is modest at 5%, but climbs to 10.6% among the newest investors. This is a stark difference against just 2.4% among those with a decade or more in the market.

IPOs aren’t the only AI story

Whilst 44% of retail investors are increasing their AI investments, sentiment around the biggest IPOs in history is more mixed.

Anthropic drew the strongest interest at 41.2%, well ahead of SpaceX's 28.4% (where a strong 49.9% are sure they won't be investing) and OpenAI's 24.9% (41.9% no, 33.1% unsure).

Confidence tempered by caution

Optimism continues to build with 70% of investors now expecting global markets to be higher in 12 months' time, up slightly from 68% last quarter and the strongest reading Finimize has recorded this year.

74% of investors plan to invest at least $10,000 over the next 12 months, with 23% planning to invest more than $100,000 although investment intent has softened slightly with 78.6% planning to invest more or stay the same over the next quarter (down from 86% last quarter).

The US remains the most attractive global market for investment, with 57.9% ranking it number one ahead of Asia, Europe, Japan and the UK.

Stocks (68%, up from 62%) and ETFs (60%, up from 59%) are picking up the slack from a cooling bitcoin: just 54% of investors expect its price to be higher in 12 months, down from 57% last quarter and the third consecutive quarterly decline, with planned crypto allocations slipping to 17% from 29% at the start of the year.

Carl Hazeley, CEO at Finimize, said: "AI has earned a permanent place in how people research investments, but it hasn't yet replaced the humans that get people started in the first place. My question is, how quickly will AI become a trusted friend? We can already see the direction of travel.

"And when it comes to AI as an investment theme, it's clear that's going nowhere despite high valuations but with experience on their side, retail investors aren't buying blindly. The IPO data shows exactly how they're weighing up the hype versus the reality."

About the Modern Investor Pulse

The Modern Investor Pulse is a quarterly survey capturing insights from Finimize's global community of retail investors. This edition surveyed 2,808 investors between May 28th, 2026, and June 15th, 2026. For access to the full survey data, please contact our press team.

About Finimize

Finimize is the research partner for modern investors. With over 1 million engaged members, it is one of the largest retail investor communities globally.

Each year, more than 70,000 members attend and host Finimize events and its premium product, Finimize Pro, offers deeper research, tools, and insight for investors looking to progress with confidence.

Through its deep understanding of investor behaviour and needs, Finimize for Business enables more than 350 financial institutions to provide trusted content and insight that drives engagement, revenue, and retention.

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