Stock Trading Volume $59 Trillion US Higher Than In The Previous Year

Published on

New Record During Pandemic: Stock Trading Volume $59 Trillion US Higher than in the Previous Year, Germans Particularly Fond of ETFs

Get The Full Walter Schloss Series in PDF

Get the entire 10-part series on Walter Schloss in PDF. Save it to your desktop, read it on your tablet, or email to your colleagues.

Q2 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more

  • Volume of stocks traded in 2020 amounts to $185 trillion US
  • This corresponds to an increase of 47% compared to the previous year
  • Particularly strong rise in ETF ownership rate in Germany
  • 70% of the shares included in the DAX are foreign-owned
  • Average holding period for shares is 0.6 years

Stock Trading Volume Hits New Records

A staggering $185 trillion worth of equities were traded worldwide in the Corona crisis year of 2020. Compared to the previous year, this corresponds to an increase of $59 trillion or almost 47%, as shown in a new infographic from Wette.de. Meanwhile, the study also paints a more accurate picture of Germans' investment preferences.

Until 2020, the year 2015 held the record in terms of stock trading turnover, with total trades amounting to $148 trillion. The high volatility in the face of the pandemic has not only prompted existing shareholders to restructure their portfolios, it has also attracted new investors.

As the infographic shows, ETFs are particularly popular among Germans. While 1.6 million Germans invested exclusively in funds/ETFs in 2019, 2.3 million did so in the following year, marking an increase of 44%. Among those who invest exclusively in shares, there was an increase from 2.6 million to 3 million in the aforementioned period, corresponding to a rise of 15%. However, the vast majority of investors continue to invest in a mix of asset classes.

Yet although investing in stocks is on the rise in Germany, the proportion of shareholders is still relatively low when compared with the USA, for example, where one in four citizens owns shares. Some find it particularly problematic that 70% of shares listed on the DAX are owned by foreigners.

"In the media discourse, there is often talk of stock market trading becoming more fast-paced - something that is not reflected in the average holding period for shares," adds analyst Raphael Lulay. "In 2020, the average holding period was 0.6 years: the same value as in 2010 and 2000."

The full story with the infographic, facts and more statistics.


About Wette.de

Wette.de is a betting platform that offers interested parties news, analyzes and instructions.