2.43 million French citizens executed a market transaction in 2025, whether involving equities, bonds, or ETFs. The latest dashboard published by the AMF regarding active retail investors clearly shows a heightened interest in the stockmarket. In 2022, the number of active investors stood at 1.73 million, and in 2020, it was below the symbolic 1.5 million mark. It can now be said that equities, bonds, and ETFs attract nearly 5% of the French population, when considering the adult population alone.
54% of New Investors Use a Non-Local Provider
The study nevertheless provides other even more instructive insights, primarily regarding the channels used to execute transactions. The opening of the domestic market has indeed been widely leveraged by European players.
Amongst those who executed at least one equity transaction last year (1.92 million), 26% used a foreign intermediary (European, excluding France). By way of comparison, only 10.6% did so in 2022. It is clear that the trend is accelerating, as the proportion even reached 27.8% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Regarding ETF buyers, the breakthrough is even more pronounced, with non-local providers attracting more than 34% of active retail investors.
As for those who invested for the first time in 2025, over 54% used an intermediary from the European Union.
Increasingly Young Investors
It is, of course, difficult not to draw a direct link between this shift and the rejuvenation of the investor population. While several studies have already shown the interest of young people in the stockmarket, the AMF panorama also highlights this phenomenon. The average age of active equity investors, which still exceeded 55 in 2022, fell to 48.3 years last year. For ETFs, it has dropped by about 10 years since 2022, reaching 38 years last year.
Foreign operators seeking to establish themselves in France often target this younger clientele, notably by offering communication and technological solutions more in line with the practices of young investors.
The specific breakthrough of non-local operators in ETFs (products of particular interest to young people) also tends to prove that European providers are gaining ground through this younger demographic.
Finally, one last element suggests that the breakthrough of foreign operators is primarily driven by the youngest investors, a population whose average orders are generally modest in size. While non-French providers captured 26% of equity transactions by number, their market share was limited to 15% in terms of traded volumes. The same phenomenon was observed in ETFs (47% of transactions and 20% of volumes).
