The FSMA has published a new edition of its Retail Investor Dashboard. This publication provides an overview of the behaviour of Belgian retail investors.
Increased investor activity in the third quarter of 2025
About 221,000 Belgian retail investors traded in shares in the third quarter of 2025. In addition, 110,000 Belgian retail investors traded in ETFs and 19,000 of them in bonds during the same period. In comparison with the previous quarter, these figures indicate an increase in the number of active investors in shares and bonds, while the number of active investors in ETFs remained stable. The number of active investors in shares reached a 5-year high.
During the third quarter of 2025, 20,000, 20,000 and 6,000 Belgian retail investors traded for the first time in shares, ETFs or bonds, respectively. For the first time in more than a year, the number of new investors in ETFs did not exceed the number of new investors in shares.
In all, Belgian retail investors carried out more than 1.6 million transactions in shares during the third quarter of 2025. In addition, around 370,000 ETF transactions and 29,000 bond transactions were carried out. The bond market saw an increase in the number of transactions for the first time since the second quarter of 2024.
Trade in defence-related shares and ETFs has risen sharply since 2024
The number of transactions in defence-related shares and ETFs carried out by Belgian retail investors rose sharply in 2024 and increased further in 2025. During the first nine months of 2025, about 300,000 transactions were recorded in the defence sector. This represents a tenfold increase over the number of annual transactions carried out in the 2021-2023 period. Shares in defence industries, in particular, seem popular, partly because many (European) defence ETFs were launched only in 2024 or later.
Investments in the defence sector by Belgian retail investors remain chiefly within the EU. More than 60% of the transactions carried out in 2024 involved a European defence share or an ETF that focuses specifically on European defence. In 2025, that percentage rose to 75%. An analysis of trade volumes reveals similar results.
The increase in defence-related investments by Belgian retail investors occurred mainly among investors over the age of 50. In the first nine months of 2025, that group accounted for almost 70% of all transactions in defence-related shares and ETFs. By contrast, during the same period, young people under 30 carried out only 5% of all defence-related transactions. The latter age group seems less inclined to invest in defence.