How Do Retail Investors Learn to Invest?

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TU research of 1,250 retail investors reveals that investment education often develops alongside market participation rather than before it. 49% began seriously learning only after making their first investment, including 11% who said a loss or investment mistake triggered more serious learning. Personal investing experience is the primary source of knowledge for 30% of investors, ahead of financial websites and articles at 21%. However, investors who primarily learned through books or structured courses achieved the highest average score on a six-question investment knowledge test, at 4.6 correct answers. While 43% rate their investment knowledge as high or very high, only 29% correctly answer at least five of the six knowledge questions.

Retail investors can learn about investing through financial websites, books, courses, brokers, videos, social media, AI tools, financial professionals, or their own experience in the market. Access to investment information has become easier, but greater access does not necessarily show when investors begin learning, which sources contribute most to their understanding, or whether they accurately assess what they know.

To examine this gap, we surveyed 1,250 retail investors worldwide, analyzing when they began learning about investing, which sources contributed most to their knowledge, how important market experience is to the learning process, and how self-assessed knowledge compares with performance on basic investment questions.

The research aims to answer key questions:

When do retail investors begin seriously learning about investing?
Where do investors learn most of what they know?
How important is practical investing experience?
Which educational sources do investors continue using?
Does the way investors learn relate to investment knowledge?
Do investors accurately assess their own knowledge?
What type of investment education do investors find most useful?

Findings

Based on TU Research, several important patterns emerge regarding how retail investors learn about investing.

Nearly half of investors began investment education after entering the market. 49% started learning mainly after making their first investment, including 11% who said a loss or investment mistake prompted them to learn more seriously.
Personal experience is the most common primary source of knowledge. 30% said their own investing experience taught them more than any other source, followed by financial websites and articles at 21%.
Most investors consider hands-on experience an important part of learning. 65% said their own investment decisions taught them most or a substantial amount of what they currently know.
Financial websites remain the most widely used continuing education source. 58% currently use financial websites or articles to improve their knowledge, while 45% use video or social media content and 36% use broker or professional education.
More structured learning is associated with higher objective knowledge. Investors who primarily learned through books or structured courses answered an average of 4.6 of six knowledge questions correctly, compared with 3.6 among investors who primarily learned through their own market experience.
Self-confidence exceeds demonstrated knowledge for a substantial share of investors. 43% described their investment knowledge as high or very high, while only 29% correctly answered at least five of six basic investment questions.
Investors prefer practical education to passive information. 34% selected short lessons using real investment examples as their preferred learning format, while another 25% preferred interactive simulations or demo investing.

Risk warning: All investments carry risk, including potential capital loss. Economic fluctuations and market changes affect returns, and 40-50% of investors underperform benchmarks. Diversification helps but does not eliminate risks. Invest wisely and consult professional financial advisors.

Institutional validation

Recent institutional research suggests that investment education increasingly takes place alongside actual retail market participation. Investors have access to financial information through brokerage platforms, financial media, social networks, online communities, advisers, and digital educational resources, but institutions continue to identify substantial gaps between access to information and investment understanding.

The World Economic Forum's 2024 Global Retail Investor Outlook, developed in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group and Robinhood Markets, surveyed more than 13,000 people across 13 markets. The research found that 42% of investors learn how to invest "by doing," making practical experience the most commonly identified learning method. Another 36% reported learning through educational resources provided by financial institutions.

The same research identified education as an important barrier to greater market participation. 28% of non-investors said they did not invest because they did not know how to invest or found it confusing, while 70% of existing investors said they would invest more if they had more opportunities to learn how to invest.

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation provides additional evidence about where retail investors obtain investment information. Its latest National Financial Capability Study Investor Survey, based on 2,861 U.S. investors with non-retirement investment accounts, found that 75% used research and tools provided by brokerage firms. Financial professionals were used by 69%, business and finance articles by 67%, and friends, family, or colleagues by 65%.

Digital information sources are particularly important for younger investors. The FINRA Foundation's Investors in the United States: Results from the FINRA Foundation's National Financial Capability Study found that 29% of investors overall rely on social media as an investment information source. YouTube was used for investing information by 30% of investors overall but by 61% of investors under 35. Recommendations from social media influencers were used in investment decisions by 26% of investors overall and 61% of those younger than 35.

However, access to investment information does not necessarily correspond to objective knowledge. The same FINRA research found that investors correctly answered an average of 5.3 of 11 investment knowledge questions. Questions involving margin and short selling produced particularly high error rates. Notably, 75% of investors who themselves made purchases on margin answered the margin question incorrectly.

More recent FINRA Foundation research provides further evidence of a difference between information consumption, confidence, and demonstrated knowledge. The 2026 study Finfluencer Followers and Social Media Scrollers found that investors using social media for investment information answered an average of 42% of objective investment knowledge questions correctly, while 63% described their own investment knowledge as high.

These investors were not necessarily using fewer sources. Social-media-informed investors consulted an average of 7.6 investment information sources, compared with 4.0 among investors who did not use social media for investment information. Greater exposure to financial content therefore did not automatically correspond to stronger objective knowledge.

Theoretical research

The way retail investors develop investment knowledge can be explained through several established concepts in education and behavioral decision-making.

One relevant concept is experiential learning. Knowledge can develop through direct experience, reflection and repeated decision-making rather than only through formal instruction. In investing, people may learn by buying assets, observing portfolio movements, experiencing volatility, making mistakes and adjusting subsequent decisions.

However, investment outcomes do not always provide clear feedback about the quality of a decision. A profitable trade can result from favorable market conditions rather than superior understanding, while a well-reasoned investment can temporarily lose value. Experience can therefore contribute to learning without necessarily producing accurate conclusions on its own.

Another relevant mechanism is self-directed learning. Retail investors generally decide for themselves what they need to learn, which sources to use and when they feel prepared to invest. Unlike professional qualifications, there is usually no required body of investment knowledge that must be demonstrated before an individual begins participating in financial markets.

Investors must also evaluate source credibility. Financial education can come from institutions, professionals, publishers, video creators, social networks, AI tools and other market participants. These sources can differ in expertise, incentives, depth and purpose. Educational information explaining an investment concept can therefore serve a different function from commentary recommending a particular asset or trade.

Finally, investors can experience a knowledge-confidence gap. Subjective investment knowledge reflects how knowledgeable a person believes they are, while objective knowledge can be tested using questions with identifiable correct answers. Repeated exposure to financial content or successful investment experience may increase familiarity and confidence without necessarily producing an equivalent improvement in understanding.

Survey data

To understand how retail investors learn about investing, we conducted a proprietary quantitative study examining the timing of investment education, primary learning sources, practical market experience, continuing education, objective investment knowledge and preferences for future learning.

While institutional research primarily documents information sources and financial literacy, this study focuses on the investment learning process itself: how investors believe their knowledge developed and whether different learning paths are associated with differences in understanding.

Methodology

The study was conducted using a structured online survey based on the CAWI methodology.

Sample composition: 1,250 retail investors.
Coverage: North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.
Age: 18–60 years old.
Participation criteria: respondents who currently hold investments or independently bought or sold at least one financial investment during the past three years.
Statistical confidence: 95%.
Estimated sampling deviation: ±2.8%.

Research team

The study was conducted by our experts:

Anastasiia Chabaniuk (Author, TU Research) – research design and interpretation.
Chinmay Soni (Fact-checker) – data validation and statistical verification.
Ciaran Ryan (Editor-in-Chief) – editorial and methodological supervision.
TU Research Team (Andrey Mastykin, Oleg Tkachenko) – data collection and analysis.

When do retail investors begin seriously learning about investing?

Investors can begin learning before putting money into the market, while preparing for their first investment, or only after gaining practical experience. Respondents were therefore asked when they first began seriously learning about investing.

When retail investors begin learning about investing
Starting point	Share of investors
Well before my first investment	24%
While preparing to make my first investment	27%
After I had already started investing	31%
After an investment loss or mistake	11%
I have never seriously studied investing	7%

Insight: Just over half of respondents (51%) began seriously learning before or while preparing for their first investment. However, 42% started only after entering the market, including 11% who said a loss or investment mistake triggered more serious learning. Another 7% said they had never deliberately studied investing.

Where do retail investors learn most of what they know?

Investment knowledge can develop through practical experience, independent research or more structured educational sources. Respondents were asked which single source had taught them the most about investing.

Primary sources of investment knowledge:

Own investing experience – 30%;
Financial websites/articles – 21%;
Video or social media content – 17%;
Books or structured courses – 13%;
Broker or financial professional – 11%;
AI tools – 8%.

Insight: Personal market experience was the most common primary learning source, selected by 30% of respondents. Financial websites and articles ranked second at 21%, followed by video or social media content at 17%. Structured books or courses were the primary source for 13%, while 8% already identified AI tools as the source that had taught them the most.

How important is practical experience when learning to invest?

Because investors frequently describe learning through actual market participation, respondents were asked how much their own investment experience had contributed to what they currently know.

Role of practical experience in investment learning
Role of practical experience	Share of investors
Taught me most of what I know	27%
Taught me a substantial amount	38%
Helped, but other sources taught me more	24%
Taught me relatively little	8%
Taught me almost nothing	3%

Insight: Nearly two-thirds of surveyed investors (65%) said practical experience had taught them most or a substantial amount of what they currently know about investing. Another 24% considered experience useful but said other learning sources had contributed more. Only 11% attributed little or no investment knowledge to hands-on experience.

Which sources do investors currently use to continue learning?

The source that initially teaches an investor may differ from the resources they use later. Respondents could therefore select the educational sources they currently use at least occasionally.

Current sources of investment education:

Financial websites/articles – 58%;
Video/social media content – 45%;
Broker or professional education – 36%;
AI tools – 33%;
Books/courses – 28%;
Friends or online communities – 24%.

Insight: Financial websites and articles were the most widely used continuing education source at 58%. Video and social media content ranked second at 45%, while 36% used education provided by brokers or financial professionals. One-third of respondents (33%) already used AI tools for investment learning, placing AI ahead of books and courses as an ongoing educational resource.

Does the way investors learn relate to what they actually know?

Respondents completed a six-question knowledge test covering diversification, risk and return, compound growth, fees, bonds and interest rates, and leverage. Average scores were then compared with respondents' primary learning source.

Investment knowledge scores by primary learning source
Primary learning source	Average correct answers
Books or structured courses	4.6 / 6
Broker or financial professional	4.3 / 6
Financial websites/articles	4.1 / 6
Video or social media content	3.8 / 6
Own investing experience	3.6 / 6
AI tools	3.5 / 6

Insight: Investors who primarily learned through books or structured courses achieved the highest average knowledge score at 4.6 out of six. Those primarily learning through brokers or financial professionals averaged 4.3, while investors relying mainly on their own market experience averaged 3.6. AI-primary learners averaged 3.5. The results indicate an association between learning source and objective knowledge, although they do not establish that the source itself caused the difference.

Do investors know as much as they think they do?

Before completing the knowledge test, respondents were asked to assess their own investment knowledge. Their answers were then compared with their objective test performance.

Self-assessed investment knowledge
Self-assessed knowledge	Share of investors
Very high	10%
High	33%
Moderate	41%
Low	13%
Very low	3%

The objective test produced the following overall distribution:

Objective investment knowledge test results
Knowledge test result	Share of investors
5–6 correct answers	29%
4 correct answers	25%
3 correct answers	23%
2 correct answers	15%
0–1 correct answers	8%

Insight: 43% of respondents described their investment knowledge as high or very high, while 29% answered at least five of six objective questions correctly. Among investors who rated their knowledge as high or very high, 31% answered no more than three questions correctly. The results suggest that perceived and demonstrated investment knowledge do not always correspond.

How do retail investors prefer to learn?

Different formats may be better suited to different types of investment education. Respondents were therefore asked which single form of additional education they would find most useful.

Preferred investment education formats:

Short practical lessons – 34%;
Interactive simulations or demo – 25%;
Step-by-step course – 19%;
AI-based explanations or tutoring – 13%;
Traditional articles, videos or books – 9%.

Insight: Short practical lessons built around real investment examples were the most popular educational format, selected by 34% of respondents. Interactive simulations or demo investing ranked second at 25%, while 19% preferred a structured step-by-step course. Together, 78% selected a practical, interactive or structured learning format rather than traditional articles, videos or books.

Download the full PDF version of the TU research to access additional analysis, detailed survey data, and extended findings from our analytical team. The report includes complete methodology, charts, and behavioral insights referenced throughout the study.

Download PDF version

Practical implications for retail investors

Several practical conclusions emerge from the research:

Build a foundation before relying on market experience. Direct experience can make investment concepts easier to understand, but market outcomes do not always reveal whether the original decision was well reasoned. Basic knowledge of risk, diversification, fees and product mechanics can provide context for lessons learned through actual investing.
Separate educational content from investment recommendations. A resource explaining how leverage, diversification or compound returns work serves a different purpose from content predicting which asset will rise. Distinguishing between the two can help investors evaluate what they are actually learning.
Check important concepts across credible sources. Different sources may explain the same investment topic in different ways. Comparing institutional education, independent financial materials and other credible resources can help identify incomplete or conflicting explanations.
Use objective questions to identify knowledge gaps. Confidence can develop through experience or frequent exposure to investment content. Periodically testing understanding of basic concepts can show where additional learning may still be useful.
Choose learning formats that require application. Examples, simulations and structured exercises can require investors to apply a concept rather than only recognize terminology. This may be particularly useful for topics involving risk, costs and portfolio decisions.

Investors interested in developing their knowledge can also consider the educational tools available through investment platforms. Some brokers provide learning centers, webinars, demo accounts, market explainers and other resources that can complement independent investment education.

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Data sources and methodology

World Economic Forum, Boston Consulting Group and Robinhood Markets. 2024 Global Retail Investor Outlook, 2025.
FINRA Investor Education Foundation. Investors in the United States, 2025.
FINRA Investor Education Foundation. Finfluencer Followers and Social Media Scrollers, 2026.
FINRA. Social Media-Influenced Investing, 2025.
OECD. Supporting the New Generation of Retail Investors in France, 2024.
OECD. New Retail Investors in France, 2023.
Traders Union. Best Forex Trading Courses Online.
Traders Union. Can I Learn Forex Trading On My Own?
Traders Union. Top Free Crypto Trading Courses.
IdSurvey. CAWI Methodology – Computer Assisted Web Interview.

Previous volumes in this series

Conclusion

The TU Research study makes clear that while retail investors have unprecedented access to investment information, genuine understanding most often comes from a combination of hands-on experience and structured education. The research highlights a key takeaway: those relying mainly on personal experience or social media display lower objective knowledge than peers who learn through structured courses or books, despite high self-confidence. For example, investors who learned from books scored highest on knowledge tests, while many who rated their expertise as high actually underperformed on basic questions. Ultimately, the highest returns on knowledge come from blending real-market engagement with foundational learning—reminding investors that confidence should be built on mastery, not just exposure.

FAQs

What factors influence when retail investors start learning about investing?

Retail investors begin learning at different stages: some start well before their first investment, others while preparing to invest, but nearly half only start serious learning after entering the market or experiencing a loss. This timing is influenced by personal motivation, prior exposure, and experiences in the market.

How does the method of learning impact retail investors’ investment knowledge?

The primary way an investor learns about investing is associated with their objective knowledge. Those who primarily use books or structured courses tend to score higher on investment knowledge tests than those who rely mainly on personal experience or digital media. However, greater use of information sources does not automatically lead to better understanding.

Why might retail investors overestimate their investment knowledge?

Many retail investors rate their investment knowledge as high or very high, but their scores on objective knowledge tests are often lower. This gap arises because familiarity with investment content or positive experiences can boost confidence without ensuring a strong grasp of core concepts.

Which ongoing educational resources are most popular among retail investors?

Financial websites and articles are the most widely used for ongoing investment education, followed by video and social media content, broker or professional education, and AI tools. Books and structured courses are used less frequently as continuing sources.

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Team that worked on the article

Anastasiia has 17 years of experience in finance and content marketing. She believes that the support of information and expert opinion is very important for the success of investors and new traders.

Learn about our editorial policies

Ciaran Ryan is a veteran financial journalist based in South Africa, where he covers cryptocurrency, mining, stock markets, and governance for Moneyweb. He also hosts the weekly Moneyweb Crypto Podcast.

Chinmay Soni is a financial analyst with more than 5 years of experience in working with stocks, Forex, derivatives, and other assets. As a founder of a boutique research firm and an active researcher, he covers various industries and fields, providing insights backed by statistical data.

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