Gen Z traders pivot toward ETFs as individual stock interest cools

The data, compiled by Binance Research, highlights a trend where exchange-traded funds claimed a larger portion of activity across direct-equity and tokenized products. In July, ETFs accounted for 21.9% of net equity inflows for Gen Z, up from 18.5% in June, while individual stock allocations dipped from 77% to 74.2% over the same period.

Despite the uptick in ETF interest, Gen Z traders remain less active than their older counterparts. On average, Gen Z users completed 13 trades per month on traditional finance perpetuals, trailing the 17 trades averaged by Millennials and 16.5 by Gen X. Furthermore, a significant portion of the cohort appears to be adopting a buy-and-hold approach; 22% of Gen Z direct-equity accounts have never executed a sell order. Binance cautioned that the limited operating history of its direct-equities platform makes it difficult to determine if these habits reflect long-term investment strategies or simply the recent entry of new participants into the market.