If you’re a retail investor thinking of jumping into the stock market because you believe it will “bounce back like it always does,” you’re in for a harsh reality. The market dynamic we’re facing now is completely different and will unfold over many months or even years. The bull market is over. Data shows that retail investors are pouring everything into stocks, with net inflows into US ETFs and individual stocks reaching a record ~40 billion in March—10 billion more than the previous all-time high at the start of the 2022 bear market. Even the meme stock frenzy in 2021 didn’t see such massive retail inflows. Retail investors are like sheep being herded toward the slaughterhouse.