Retail Investors Are Getting Back Into Tech Stocks as Bearishness Cools

• The latest sentiment survey from the American Association of Individual Investors shows bearish vibes on the wane.

• In spite of the chaos caused by geopolitical tensions, core portfolios across generational cohorts remained the same-ish, according to Apex.

Tech is the new tech trade.

Before geopolitical issues came to the fore in late February, investors were ambivalent about the technology and artificial intelligence they drove sky-high in 2025, particularly the largest companies in the U.S. stock market known as the Magnificent Seven. As those powerhouses sank into the red they are still down so far this year—the question was whether the AI trade would remain alive.

Now the pullback aided by the war in Iran has reset investor appetites. With valuations reading “extremely cheap” by some measures, and renewed hankering for growth, tech stocks would appear to be on the cusp of being fashionable once more.

Tech stocks are core holdings of most investor portfolios, across generations and incomes, so their return to favor would appear to be a positive development for the investing community at large.

“Long US tech feels like the one trade that stands apart from the obvious post-ceasefire playbook,” Vanda wrote Thursday.

Though investor stock buying activity has been tepid lately, with some market watchers saying buying may pick up after everyone’s taxes are in and refunds are processed, retail and institutional investors appear to tiptoeing back into Mag 7 stocks already, according to Vanda data. Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) would appear to be favorites lately, as is Palantir (PLTR)—the latter of which on Wednesday saw its biggest day for net buying since October 2025, when major tech stocks hit peaks.

Nvidia (NVDA), Tesla (TSLA) and Apple were among the top owned holdings across age cohorts in the first quarter, according to Apex Fintech Solutions, parent of the clearing firm that was once part of Robinhood’s backend operations, whose data represents millions of retail accounts.

There were some notable differences in the generations’ portfolio allocations: Boomers appear to have picked up defensive stalwarts like Exxon (XOM) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) in the first three months of the year, while Gen Z added bitcoin proxy Strategy (MSTR) and Millennials “doubled down” on Nasdaq stocks.

Investors appear to be more at ease about the future of the stock market too. The American Association of Individual Investors’ latest sentiment survey show that negative energy around stocks is on the wane. For the week ended Wednesday, nearly 36% of respondents said they were bullish, and 43% bearish, compared to 34% and 51%, respectively, a week earlier.

Read the original article on Investopedia