Retail investors are lowering the threshold at which they would buy a market decline. A new eToro survey found that 26% would invest after a fall of 5% to 10%, up from 22% a year earlier.

For retail brokers, that could move client activity closer to ordinary volatility and away from the occasional crash. The finding does not show that smaller declines have already produced more deposits, trades or revenue.

The Retail Investor Beat polled 11,000 investors in 13 countries. Some 25% would wait for a decline of 11% to 20%, while 11% would hold out for a drop of more than 20%, down from 13%.

Smaller Dips Could Mean More Frequent Orders

If investors act as they say they will, brokers could see buying spread across more market pullbacks. Products for repeated allocations, including fractional shares and automated contributions, could benefit.

Recent eToro data show more frequent, smaller transactions, although they do not establish a connection with buying dips. Capital markets trades rose 59% year over year to 64 million in May, while the average amount per trade fell 36% to $201.

eToro attributed part of the smaller trade size to copy trading and automation. Separately, retail demand for US equities reached a record in early 2026, according to Citadel Securities data cited by Finance Magnates.

The survey does not measure order frequency or size. Nor does it show whether investors would commit additional capital or deploy money already set aside.

Fractional Shares Lower the Entry Point

Products that divide an allocation across several purchases may fit the behavior in the poll. CMC Markets introduced fractional share and ETF investing from GBP 1 in the UK in July. Swissquote and Webull UK also offer fractional access.

Cash management is another consideration. Competing for uninvested balances through interest or money market products could keep funds available for a pullback.

For brokers expanding into wealth products, investors’ motivations may matter more than the size of the decline. Long-term investing was cited by 41%, compared with 27% seeking a short-term rebound. Lower valuations were selected by 38%.

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“More investors appear willing to build positions gradually,” eToro Global Market Strategist Lale Akoner said.

Engagement Carries a Regulatory Limit

The findings do not give brokers a free hand to push every falling market. Price alerts and watchlists can help clients monitor markets, but prompts designed to generate urgency can cross into practices regulators are examining.

An FCA study of trading-app design found that the median user of a high-engagement app made seven times as many trades. Such users were also 4.8 percentage points more likely to suffer a realized loss exceeding 2% of annual net income.

The distinction matters for brokers offering cash investments and CFDs. Buying a stock or ETF without leverage can form part of a long-term plan. Adding to a leveraged CFD as its underlying market falls can increase losses and trigger a margin closeout.

The survey did not break answers down by instrument. It cannot show whether respondents were thinking about shares, funds, crypto assets or leveraged products.

Geopolitical Fear Has Not Stopped Investment Plans

International conflict was the most frequently cited external portfolio risk at 23%, up from 19% a year earlier. Concern about a global recession declined to 21% from 26%.

The previous quarterly survey had conflict and recession tied at 22% each. In the latest poll, 51% said interest rates had not changed their plans, while 22% intended to invest more and 20% planned to invest less.

Risk education and portfolio tools offer brokers a response without turning fear into a sales message. Diversification screens, concentration warnings and staged orders can support a decision without presenting every decline as a buying opportunity.

The survey was conducted by Opinium between May 14 and 29. Respondents were existing investors rather than a sample of the general population, and the release did not provide country-level results for the dip-buying questions. Its 68% headline figure shows how many said some decline would prompt a purchase, not how many will buy when the next one occurs.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.AnalysisRead More

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