Irish retail investors at the start of 2026 had investments totalling over €35 billion and this represented an all-time high.
This is up 13% on 2025 and has grown from €9 billion in 2020.
How, and in what are they investing?
The Central Bank of Ireland produce solid numbers and useful insights on what Irish retail investors are doing. And their most recent edition of “Behind the Data” has just landed.
This investment data is separate from any assets held through pension or investment funds. To put it in perspective, total pension fund assets are about €150 billion.
Of the €35 billion held by retail investors, about half (€17.6 billion) is through funds. This 50% share has increased from 44% in 2023. The balance is mainly direct stocks and other instruments.
And when you drill down into the investment funds, not surprisingly there’s a lot of exposure to equity markets. Holdings of equities through funds shares amount to €9 billion. When considered alongside direct holdings of listed equity shares (€14.2 billion or 40 per cent of total household holdings) the estimated total household exposure to the world’s stock markets is approximately €23.2 billion, representing about 66% of total household investment holdings. But the exposure to equities is likely higher as a lot of multi-asset funds would also hold shares.
So exposure to stock-markets for Irish retail investors is significant.
There has also been a change in how we invest. The CBI now includes data for assets held through non domestic Euro custodians. This essentially reflects the growing popularity of online digital trading platforms, especially to the younger generation of investors. The amount invested through these “neobanks” and other fintech is just over €6 billion. The CBI reference Revolut in this regard, with its Irish customers holding just over €1 billion at the end of May this year. The report suggests that these trading platforms are currently seeing a greater volume of transactions than more traditional avenues and are gaining market share.
And there’s also some change in what we invest in. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a global phenomenon and the Irish investor is no different. Originally these were mainly passive instruments following an index or a basket of shares, but increasingly we are seeing active strategies in ETF format. Today Irish household holdings of ETFs stand at €5.6 billion. This is up from €3 billion in 2023. Most of this ETF investment is done through trading platforms. Global experience suggests this is likely to grow further.
So when we look at Irish retail portfolios today, we can see a significant allocation to funds, a high degree of exposure to equities and a growing use of new instruments and new ways of accessing investments.
Tradewinds 